Matt 236

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It’s a shame but no surprise either. Hocus Pocus Hall has been in a dire state in the last year or so, with it’s absence of glasses, broken/ageing effects and terrible dubbed pre-show. It was probably a matter of time before it was replaced or mothballed as the glasses were not returning. With some simple and regular maintenance and upkeep, HPH could have well lasted noticeably longer than it has, but clearly corporate side chose not to. I suppose 15 years isn’t that bad for a walkthrough attraction. Least the marketing is quite fun and creative though. 7 million anyone?

Just come back from Europa and regretibly missed the CanCan Coaster by just a day. Can’t remember the last time I was spited something so much. On the s note, it looks beautiful from the outside and the French area as a whole looks terrific. Things to note: 1/ Food Loop looks like it’s got new lighting 2/ Volatarium is stunning and kicks Ferrari Land’s one to the curb 3/ Jim Knopf Marks a charming yet refreshing update to the former 99 ride system 4/ Madame Freidrich’s Curiodities is such a charming dark ride. An attraction about dinosaurs wearing clothes made from an old lady on paper shouldn’t work, but it seems to perfectly here. Such an upbeat happy attraction with a lot more life and character than the ageing Universe Of Energy ride. I love how EP is retheming stuff with more upbeat brighter themes. Unlike some other parks. 5/ The absence of the fire damaged was slightly noticeable but didn’t drastically affect the enjoyment or trip duration. It still makes me sad though, seeing that empty patch of land in the middle of the park and a partially naked rapids. 6/ The Park shows were of good quality and variation, especially the park’s Rutluntica musical and Paddington on Ice. How they managed four dress changes in audience view in a few minutes was astounding! 7/ Wodan and Arthur still amazing and have aged well. 8/ Blue Fire isn’t as good as Helix and Icon, but is still a great ride, looks beautiful and has an amazing throughput. That last inversion though is phenomenal! 9/ Silver Star isn’t as good as Shambhala but everything after the mid course brake fun is excellent and arguably better than the ending of Shambhala. 10/ If anyone wants good reasonable food, the Pizza Pasta place between France and Italy is somewhere I recommend. 11/ Bench is still hilarious. 12/ Rutluntica is progressing well. It’s amazing how large the site and hotel will be, which are a surprising distance from the main park and other hotels. They have a preview centre too. 13/ Operations are naturally excellent. Trains dispatched on average every 30-40 seconds but maybe as quick as 20 on some. I did notice some slightly stricter nods to safety though, such as more warning labels and restraint checking. However in this age of paramount safety and exploitative social media, it’s to be expected. 14/ Ireland is a fun area for younger guests. BA Express is perhaps the smallest coaster I’ve been on in a park. It honestly makes Octonauts look thrilling! We spent five days there, which felt plenty of time whilst there. The park hotels look amazing and I vow to stay in one in the future. Silverlake Saloon is a nice place to chill and eat after close. Reasonable cost and quality I’d say. if I haven’t said it already, Europa is a park everyone should visit at least once, even you aren’t into parks that much!

Blue Streak is lovely classic coaster. Reminds me of a cross between Nick Streak and Dipper. Corkscrew may may not be the best coaster there, but I did like the classic feel of it especially given these rides seem to be gradually disappearing. Seemed smooth too. Interesting points on Gemini as I found it a fun little ride, yet we lost each time we did both sides. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the best ride around but I think is quirky in many respects. There were definitely reliability issues as we also witnessed it closed/late opening at least twice. Magnum for me was a ride I enjoyed the more the more I went on it. I didn’t enjoy my first ride, but came off loving it after my third. It’s a much better ride than Big One (except maybe the drop) although it’s location is an interesting one. Good views of the waterpark. I adore Maverick and Steel Vengeance. I love the intensity, pacing and surroundings of Maverick whilst Steel Vengeance I love how relentless it is. Both are literally in my top three. Cedar Point arguably has the better rides than SFMM. It’s not stopping me from going though.

Good to hear Towers are delivering again on the operational point. Sounds like Oblivion in particular is performing better now amongst Nemy being even more efficient. I’ve usually found Wickerman and Thirteen the most efficient and Galactica the least. I think the VR needs to go as it’s really affecting throughputs,unless they opted for a Europa style system ala Alpen Express. Blackpool’s operations felt better last time I visited. Icon had the best operations and Grand National by far the worst. I guess in America it depends on the park as some likely perform better than others. Wickerman is arguably the best best ride Towers have built since Hex.

Well definitely looks a very attractive and impressive dive coaster and the drop looks very good on this too. I do Wonder how it compares to Oblivion, Baron and Valravn? Apparently the park are enforcing a ‘no bags in queue’ system for bags here (like a lot of American parks are currently doing). However the lockers are cheap (so I’ve been told) and last upto three hours a time.

Interesting thoughts on the park. Whilst there things Swarm does better like it’s first drop, Gate Keeper is definitely the better ride. Especially with it’s interactions and three train operation. Raptor is great and definitely has some unexpected elements there like the reverse inline. I also found Valravn a let down, I think the lack of drop surroundings is down to this. I didn’t find Iron Dragon the best and came off preferring Vampire (even in it’s current state). Least their one seems well looked after and is quite pretty above the water. Which other suspended coasters with original trains have you been on and how do they compare? I didn’t find Rougarou too rough or uncomfortable during my three goes on the ride apart from maybe clipping my ears on the restraint once. It’s one of my favourite ‘non inverted’ B&M’s and felt much better than Dragon Khan. Least for me anyway. I did MF both at the front and back, I enjoyed both. I’m not sure why people say it’s overrated but understand some may enjoy particular rides more than others. I see rides like TTD and Stealth in a separate sub category to launch coasters like Maverick and Taron. Purely because their intention is to just reach a key height at a key speed rather than deliver a selection of elements. I actually came off enjoying TTD (especially at the front), as I found the sheer force and acceleration breathtaking. They are still one trick ponies though I will say that and whilst rides like Maverick are arguably more exciting,for me it doesn’t detract anything on what TTD is trying to achieve. I think to say the park has zero atmosphere may be a little harsh. The park definitely has some form of atmosphere but it’s definitely much different to somewhere like Europa Park or Efteling. Cedar Point has more of a relaxed and upbeat atmosphere as opposed to a magic/immersive one which the formers are perhaps more so. There was definitely mudic around too though. TTD was playing ‘Ready To Go’- by Republica and the Steel Vengeance and Maverick areas were playing a lot of classic Western soundtracks. Both of these gave their respective areas some atmosphere. In my opinion at least. You May disagree with the majority above, but just thought I would deliver my thoughts on a few things. Just for interest and contrast.

America! It’s somewhere I have wanted to go and visit since I can remember. I had always dreamt of visiting here, since seeing it in films, television and more. The style and the culture. Recently that dream became a reality, thanks to a great opportunity with some great mates. Bringing not only a chance to visit the states but one of it’s most iconic parks Cedar Point. Now you’ve probably already read Mark9’s informative trips from here, so a different scope should be required. In my reviews I will not only mention of Cedar Point, but my full experience of the States, being my first trip outside of Europe as of 2018. Day 0/ Sunday- Going West Wise and I parked up at Gatwick’s long stay before joining the transfer to the terminal. After uniting with Doyle, we were good to go beginning our long descent to America! After devouring a Spoons brunch, we hopped onboard our first of two flights with Icelandic air, who despite being relatively unknown proved to be better than expected; the engines were loud though. Like very loud! This would be my first long haul flight (having previously flown 2 HR 40 max on short haul). I expected a long, boring and tiring flight, but it wasn’t as bad, thanks to some on flight entertainment. Dead pool and Isle Of Dogs were amongst my choices with the odd Fawlty Towers episode. Three hours later we arrived at Reykjavik Iceland, where we literally changed to our connecting flight immediately. This plane was even better than the first apart from one of our screens being broken, which was unacceptable. Another five and a bit hours later , we finally landed at Cleveland Ohio. This was it, I was finally in America! Not after customs though. The American custom process is much stricter and complex than the European one ( pre-Brexit at least). You are asked a number of questions upon arrival. Although the staff seemed friendly enough all instructions must be obeyed! This did take longer than first hoped. Another security check took place before we were finally out. A quick bus to our hire car company commenced before we were finally on the way once we chose our vehicle. It was interesting to note the differences on American roads. From yellow traffic lights and lack of roundabouts. Even the cars were different in many respects. Red indicators? No front number plates? All here in America. We finally arrived at our hotel for the trip, Cedar Point’s Express Hotel. Although simple it was clean, tidy and welcoming. Ride pictures above the beds is such a nice touch! McDonald’s was our first stateside meal (conveniently located across the road from the hotel). The burger was certainly more tasty amongst a bigger portion and unlimited refills (a common measure in US eateries). Day 1/ Monday- The Magnificent Seven-teen Despite the long flight, I managed to wake up bright and early. Then again, I was still running on UK time so, 6am Cleveland time would equate to 11am in London. Monday would be the first of three full days to visit Cedar Point. Home of seventeen coasters (eighteen including both of Gemini’s track), the park boasts the second highest coaster count in the world. Least until a few years time when Energylandia will probably top it all. The park features it’s own road/highway which may be the only major access route to the park. The views of the ride skyline make it what is arguably one of the most beautiful and impressive theme park views around! They didn’t lie about it being a roller coast. We parked up and arrived promptly. One of the advantages of staying at Cedar Point property is being allowed to enter for early ride time, one hour before main opening. After playing the Star Spangled Banner, we made our way to our first attraction of the day, Steel Vengeance (the patriotism there is impressive). New for 2018, this RMC replaced the ageing Mean Streak coaster, taking it’s layout and making it better. The hype for this ride was unreal. I know I shouldn’t judge an attraction before riding, but I was unbelievably excited to experience this! Such a beauty! Watching this ride going around it’s circuit! So, how was Steel Vengeance you ask? Absolutely Incredible! The ride is impressively tall, fast and packed with airtime (both floater and ejector) and hangtime amongst a lengthy ride duration. I came off this ride immediately knowing it to be my number one coaster, and that was just from a middle row ride! Cedar Point may not be specialists when it comes to turning, but SV definitely had some (if you look hard enough). From it’s styled lighting and story boards. They even feature different dispatch announcements for each train (Chess, Blackjack and Digger). This was my first RMC, so fingers crossed I haven’t set the bar too high already and don’t appreciate others as a result. My only criticism is naturally their ‘no phone in queue line’ policy, where phones must be put in a locker prior to riding. They even had undercover staff in the queue looking for anyone who snuck their phone in! There was also a security/police personnel at the entrance in case of abusive guests. Things aside, Steel Vengeance is an incredible ride and worth tracking out for alone (amongst Cedar Point’s other amazing rides). Maverick was the second ride of our trip. This intamin blitz coaster opened in 2007 replacing the former flume ride. I really like how they have preserved the old station and reused it as Maverick’s queue even if it is just your average cattle-pen. Maverick really surprised me. Whilst I’d heard great things about this coaster, this thing literally wowed me! From it’s tight intense transitions, landscaping down to it’s hidden launch which was just amazing. This ride for me narrowly beats Taron due to it’s variety of elements. And turnsurprise launch. There is also a back story to this attraction too. We had a bite to eat next at this Smokehouse place. We all had spicy sausage, chips and a muffin. It looked a lot more delicious than this photo suggests, I like the details on these presumably old posters and signs. Millennium Force was number three. The hype this coaster gets is absolutely insane, so I was concerned it would be overrated (given it’s mixed reception from enthusiasts). I queued (ages) with an open mind trying not to think of how much I might like the ride. Millennium Force surprised me! Often ranked very highly on coaster polls I was greatly satisfied this ride turned out to be just as good (if not better) from what I was expecting. From it’s 300 ft plus cable lift hill, the ride delivers in plenty ways. There is definitely plenty of force as this coaster flies around it’s circuit. There is also plenty of interaction a lot more airtime than I was expecting too. Who said it was forceless? I honestly came off shaken, in a good way which is why Millennium Force gets fifth place in my top 10 (speaking in September 2018). N.B the gap between the 2-7 on my coaster ratings is pretty minuscule. Having done what are arguably the three biggest (and best) rides at the park it was time for something comparatively smaller, Iron Dragon. Opening in 1987, this Arrow suspended coaster is one of just five that remain operating (once 10). It’s also the oldest to remain operating (fourth one made). The ride wasn’t anything remarkable, although I suppose it is one of the older ones of it’s type. Least I’ve now managed to one with the old Cars I guess. Rougarou was next. This B&M coaster used to be a stand up but was converted to a floorless a few years ago. I was pleasantly surprised with this ride. Like really surprised! The pacing and momentum through those inversions and helixes was superb. Truly an underrated coaster here and everything Dragon Khan should’ve been. We headed east next to Gate Keeper, however it was down so we did Wicked Twister instead. This was a pleasant surprise and definitely a lot better than expected. The feeling of those launches and seeing the track top above was one crazy feeling! Blue Streak followed, which was first and last wooden cred of the trip. This ride was pleasantly fun and reminded me of Big Dipper and Nick Streak at Blackpool. At 54 it is also one of the oldest coasters too. We headed back to Gate Keeper which was now running which would by my second B&M Wing Rider. Apart from the view onto the car park, I thoroughly enjoyed this one, from it’s selection of elements to the interactions near the entrance and theming elements! A better ride than Swarm in some areas but not in others. We took the Sky Ride down to the entrance to experience Raptor. Not the Towers one. This version is an absolute classic and similar to the ones the first Magic Kingdom park’s used to have. They offered pleasant views of the park and peninsula. A shame Drayton spited theirs! Raptor opened in 1994 (the same year as Nemesis) which is also a B&M invert. It was hear we also experienced our first ‘in line shutdown’. No P.A announcement but they managed to get the ride up again pretty quickly in around 10 minutes. The amount of people leaving the line without appearing disgruntled was remarkable. They certainly seem more relaxed out here! We managed front row on Raptor which turned out to be an impressive invert. It was a bit like Inferno but bigger and better. Some of those inversions really pull force and put you off guard, especially that reverse inline. Currently my second favourite of four inverts (just four?) and favourite B&M in this park! We grabbed another of many soft drink refills from the Coadter’s Diner before making a move to the further North Coasters in this park. The amount of free style refill and drinks choices out here is remarkable and offers considerably better choices than back home. Jamie Oliver is one of many reasons why the UK doesn’t get nice things anymore! We did Corkscrew, another of several Arrow coasters at the park. Despite its age I found it surprisingly enjoyable. Magnum XL was our next ride. In 1988 This beast was the tallest coaster in the world at 205ft tall, until it’s slightly taller sister the Big One stole it! I found my first ride on the Magnum noticeably jerky and uncomfortable almost to the point I proffered The Big One. It’s a good job I didn’t just do it once! It’s still popular too. Gemini followed. This is an interesting attraction in that it’s a racing coaster that looks like a woodie in places but is actually a steel coaster. It’s height implies it’s a thrill coaster, but it mostly rides as a thrilling family ride. Whilst Gemini may not have the frills and excitement as other coasters at the park, it perfectly serves it’s purpose as a fun and exciting ride. The racing element here likely helps enhance this factor. After Gemini we raced over (pun intended) to Cedar Creek Mine Ride, the final of C’s Arrow quintet. This is the second oldest coaster operating at the park, which you can tell from old fashioned restraints style which are manually functioned by ride staff. It also occupies one of the larger footprints too. Aside from it’s historical significance, there isn’t anything remarkable about this ride as nothing really sticks out for it. Least the location is nice though. Still beats El Diablo. We took a quick break from our coaster and soft drink hoarding by going on Sky Hawk, the park’s S&S Sky Swing. This was honestly tonnes of fun and swings much higher and longer than Rush indefinitely. Valravn would serve as our final ride and Cred of day one. We joined the queue just before it closed and spent most of the time chatting an American family who seemed quite friendly; I found most people during my trip out there friendly. Timing it right (when staff asked for a three), we finally boarded what would be our final B&M we hadn’t done at the park. Although Wise and Martin seemed to like it, I came off feeling like something was missing. Like key wow factor moment. It probably didn’t help being asked to randomly swap seats with another rider. Despite it’s height, the drop felt empty and I think the reason for this is largely down to the lack interaction. Whilst CP isn’t a park that specialise in theming, they could have at least added a tunnel or something as that alone would already be a noticeable improvement both to the ride in appearance and experience. Don’t get me wrong it’s not a terrible coaster (far from it). But I just feel I csme off it feeling a little disappointed and wanting more and preferring Oblivion to it despite being a longer ride. I think the second half is generally better on this one! Least Yukon Striker actually has an impressive first drop! Now your probably thinking I’m missing out on an important ride here. Something that you can’t help but notice really impacts the park’s ride selection and skyline. The answer Unfortunate is No. we didn’t go on Woodstock Express on day one! Oh, and Top Thrill Dragster was down due to some cable replacing work, so looks like we’ve been spited a Cred here. Or have we? End Of Part One

Everyone has different opinions on different parks and attractions. I guess that is what makes enthusiasts interesting as long as it doesn’t result in anyone fighting to the death or receiving a permanent ban! I personally love Helix, due to it’s combination of elements, lush surroundings and that exit out of the station. Sure it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but it’s my european number one for a reason! Anyways back on subject, my turn! 1/ Some park’s benefit from theming more than others depending on the style of the park. 2/ Some parks should stick to themed music and others to commercial music. Some benefit from combining both. 3/ Maverick is better than Taron (only slightly but it’s still better) 4/ Millennium Force is better than Shambhala 5/ Icon is better than Blue Fire 6/ Stealth is better than Red Force 7/ U.K. Mcdonalds do better breakfasts than American ones

Those poor guests, not being rescued by staff in their Safari car park! Poster looks alright though.

Thirteen is definitely one of the better rides at Towers. Sure it’s marketing campaign was misleading but it’s a fun ride for both ‘adventurous families’ and thrill seekers and generally has the most enjoyment and surprise from overall riders. I like about everything from thie. Coaster, from it’s gothic queue and station, doen to the surprise drop and backwards section. Heck, even it’s pre-station mini launch is more than acceptable. It’s still the park’s most successful attraction too. Unlucky? I think not!

Well you can’t say it’s not flying up. Thats a lot of track there! Phantasialand seem to be on track for the park with the best coaster quality in Europe.

There has to be some pretty good reason if Big Top isn’t to return this year. *snaps fingers*

West Coast Racers looks the most exciting addition by far, but those comfort collars are a very strange addition. Max Force does not look to bad either. Looks like SFMM are well and truly the world’s Coaster capital now. At least until Energylandia probably beat that in a few years.

Top Thrill Dragster is definitely the best launch for acceleration, it’s just amazing. Stealth’s launch is still good though. Maverick is definitely my favourite launch for pace and momentum, it’s so surprising but great at the same time. Taron’s second launch is an honourable mention too! Thirteen’s pre-station return launch is strangely satisfying too.

QTop 10 B&M’s 1/ Shambhala 2/ Nemesis 3/ Raptor 4/ Rougarou 5/ Inferno 6/ Gate Keeper 7/ Black Mamba 8/ Swarm 9/ Valravn 10/ Silver Star Intamin/ 1/ Maverick 2/ Taron 3/ Millennium Force 4/ TopThrill Dragster 5/ Furious Baco 6/ Stealth 7/ Red Force 8/ Thirteen 9/ Wicked Twister 10/ Kanonen (if it still counts) Wooden Coasters 1/ Wodan 2/ Joris 3/ Wickerman 4/ Balder 5/ Megafobia 6/ Stampida 7/ Grand National 8/ Blue Streak 9/ Big Dipper 10/ Tomahawk

I’ll go (with the flow)

At the moment I can do the latter two as I’m not working those days. The first one is less likely at the moment.

I second much of the above. Steel Vengeance is a world class coaster which packs airtime (both ejector and floater), hangtime, Force and duration as an experience. Some may argue it lacks theming and experience but it’s actually there if you look close enough! Each train even has it’s own dispatch announcements. Cedar Point really is a park worth visiting if you are into thrilling rides (especially coasters) which packs what is arguably the best coaster collection in the world. There are many lovely areas too to wander around too. Full review soon. P.S Dinosaurs Alive and Witches Wheel close 3rd September.

It has been a long one coming,but after a park like no other it is finally time to update some top 10’s. Roller Coasters: 1/ Steel Vengeance 2/ Helix 3/ Maverick 4/ Taron 5/ Millennium Force 6/ Shambhala 7/ Wodan 8/ Nemesis 9/ Raptor 10/ Icon Parks visited: 1/ Europa Park 2/ Cedar Point 3/ Efteling 4/ Phantasialand 5/ Disneyland Paris 6/ Liseberg 7/ Port Aventura 8/ Blackpool Pleasure Beach 9/ Alton Towers 10/ Thorpe Park Some of you may be shocked and surprised by my choices here, but I can reassure you there is methods In these conclusions. Everything in a park from location, styling, selection and character is analysed amongst what kind of park it may be. Not every park needs tonnes of thrilling rides or magical theming and details everywhere, they are all different and would be a dull world if they weren’t. The differences between my top two perhaps elaborate this. And finally, Cedar Point Coasters ranked from top to bottom (most were ridden at least twice): 1/ Steel Vengeance 2/ Maverick 3/ Millennium Force 4/ Raptor 5/ Rougarou 6/ Top Thrill Dragster 7/ Gate Keeper 8/ Valravn 9/ Magnum XL 10/ Gemini 11/ Wicked Twister 12/ Blue Streak 13/ Corkscrew 14/ Iron Dragon 15/ Cedar Creek Mine (the irony), Wilderrness Run and Woodstock Express were not ridden.

I guess one thing to remember is last year the park did start their Fright Night events one week earlier. If this remains the case they have a little longer to get things ready. It’s difficult to say what this year’s event will hold but I’ll almost guarantee Living Nightmare and Saw will return, given their pre-FN operations. I would be surprised if Big Top didn’t return, given it’s popularity but we shall see.

Creepy Caves was by far the best attraction in the lineup last year so it’s great to have it back. I expect Trick Or Treat will perhaps still be very similar albeit with some slight but noticeable differences.

I’m calling fake news there!

Thorpe gaining Ramesis Revenge would be a poor idea. should the unlikely day ever arrive they actually install one, it should be one of those floorless models like Talocan. Throw in some fire too and you not only have an even better ride but a U.K. first too! Other flat suggestions could include, a Loke gyro swing and Poly P spinner. Just ideas though.

More accommodation then? Thats exactly what the park needs over better hours, F&B, Entertainments and support rides. Three accommodation expansions in five years is certainly not enough! They are not the biggest rooms in the world, but I’m sure they are better than nothing!