This is the day I had waited for all this year and infact I was orginally meant to be at Cedar Point back in June but unfortunutly we couldnt get the flights as they were all full up, but it was a good job we was'nt there then as it would have been the week when the ride went down which meant I wouldnt have been able to ride it at all.

I got up the next morning feeling very excited I was going to ride Dragster, and so after meeting up with another ECC member, we headed to the park that I loved the first time I came here 2 and a half yrs ago. Staying in the Radisson Gave me Early Pass Access so it was time to make good use of the 30 free mins we had, Early Rider on the saturday would get us access on Raptor and Millennium Force so we decided to get one ride on each before going to Dragster.

RAPTOR - Its a wonderful B&M Inverted but getting slighty rough in places, However it still give out enough thrills for a good ride and the end corkscrew and Helix is quality.

MILLENNIUM FORCE - what Can I say about Millennium Force, Its one of those coasters where pictures dont do it justice, this is one huge beast that really delivers big on thrills. The Drop is amazing as well as the overbanked turn, and the ending is still very good with the turn over the queue line.

DRAGSTER - Finally it was time for Dragster, we should have hit it as soon as we came in as the queue was already back to the Corkscrews on Corkscrew, but it still moved fairly quick and overall I waited 2hrs 30 mins(Smashing my total for longest wait on a coaster) However it would have been 2hrs but there was a 15 min brakedown followed by another 15 mins of downtime due to a rollback. Waiting for this ride was terrifing and this is the first time for a while that a ride actually gave me goosebumps. Anyway finally it was time to ride, I just wanted to sit anywhere for my first time so I think I was in the middle seats. Waiting on that launch track was scary and just waiting to be launched was even scarier. Then we suddenly launch, and OH MY this is intense, Infact you really cant describe it in words, this is one launch that needs to be experienced to be believed. Up to the top we go and then its slowly over the top, Its funny here to look down on Millennium Force as it looks more like a Kiddie Coaster(And NO I'm not joking) and then its the drop down, the twist feels weird but adds more of a thrill and then its the curve out to the brakes, WOW What a Rush, I could easily get addicted to this, I may have waited 2hrs 30 mins for my first time, but it was 2 and a half hrs well queued I say. A simply incredible Ride and well worth the trip over here to ride this.

Because we had spent so long queueing for Dragster, it meant we had missed out on FastTrack for any other rides, so we would have to wait out in the queues for anything else however with CP's incredibly capasity records, It shouldnt matter too much. We tryed to do Mean Streak but the queue was out the entrance(And just before you say that never happens on Mean Streak anymore, It certainly does because I even have a picture to prove this) so I skipped Mean Streak alltogether. I next tryed Iron Dragon, This is in view isnt a bad suspended coaster and has some good moments especially with the helix over the lake at the end, Its also a sneaky way to check the queue on Dragster if you cant be bothered to walk round to the entrance to check as one of the turns before the second lift is virtually next door to the queue line.

We checked Mantis and MF but they were both huge lines(MF had a 2hr line, and Mantis was probably about 1hr 30 mins) so we skipped them, I then went to try Wicked Twister which would be new to me

WICKED TWISTER - This is a pretty good impulse, but it didnt feel very powerful to me, although that could be due to the fact that CP have already toned down this ride since it opened, It still felt good though and the climb up the twisted spike backwards felt very weird and different, Still a wonderful Ride.

We then thought it would be a good time to try some Haunted Mazes, so tried Pharaoh's Secret Haunted House and Toxic Tunnel of Terror, Both are in 3D which is different and the 3D glasses are only $1 so worth it I feel. Pharaoh's Secret was OK but not great, there was nice effects, but the live actors were not really trying enogh to scare you, Still not a bad maze. Toxic tunnel was superb though, very nicely themed, and the Live Actors were doing a great job scaring people, One them followed us for a little scareing the shite out of us, The ending has the exit in front of you only for one more actor to come out of complete darkness really scaring you to death, A very nice maze, and queues for both were quite comfortable despite us doing them at about 6PM in the evening when the queues really seem to hit their peak(30 mins for Pharaohs, and 20 mins for Toxic Tunnel)

I then went to have something to eat, and then go for another ride on Dragster(The guy I was with gave me an exit pass for Dragster as he had to leave the park early, Thanks again Keith) so I only waited 15 mins for another ride, The ride is still simply incredible, the thing that gets me is, When you launch and you think it may slow down, there is a slight increase in speed to obviously get it over the top, This was also a night ride when I got my second ride so it was awesome at night, Simply AMAZING.

As Night Drew, I went round getting a few more rides in the process. I went for one ride on Gemini,Mine Train,And WildCat and I also went to check out the Fright Zone. The Fright Zone was absolutly fantastic and very well done, There was think fog everywhere so you cant see where you going which mean there was many live actors to scare you silly, It really was a good experience walking through. With not long to go, It was time for a few more rides, and managed 1 more ride on Raptor,Disaster Transport and Blue Streak, Blue Streak is a quality little woodie, Still very smooth, and a lot of fun, truely one of the hidden gems at the park.

Now reguarding Queues and Crowds, It was Busy, but it certaintly was'nt heaving like the Saturday before, By hitting some of the rides like I done late at night, the queues were actually quite pleasent(Didnt hit any rides longer than a 30 min queue between 8PM till Close on the ones I rode) MF Hit 2hrs though constantly, and Dragster was about 2-3hrs, and the other main ones like Raptor,Wicked Twister,Mantis,Magnum all hit about 1hr nearly anytime during the day. However the one thing that constantly impresses me about CP is the way they run the rides, All the Crews on all the rides were really impresive and all rides were being run to full capasity, To give you a idea MF,Raptor,Corkscrew,Iron Dragon,Magnum,Mean Streak,Mine Train ALL RAN 3 TRAINS, Dragster ran with 6 trains but was reduced to 5 train op late afternoon. Also Blue Streak,Mantis,Gemini all ran with 2 trains, and Wildcat and Disaster Transport all seem to run all of its trains also so you couldnt ask for more on the operation of rides. Food Places were the main killers, I queued up 30 mins for Dinner in the evening, and the Midway Market near Raptor had a queue outside the door.

It was still a fantastic day at Cedar Point though, and no dought I would be back for more in the morning, hopefully I could get in a few more rides on Dragster this time.

Cedar Point - 19/10/03

I hit the park early in the morning hoping for a good early ride on Dragster, However seeing as I had time, I think there would be no harm in getting a quick ride on Raptor seeing as it was part of early rider again so I did. after that it was straight to Dragster and just WAIT.I waited a full 1hr just for it to open as they had quite a few problems testing the ride as one train rollbacked 3 times, and another train twice, Finally it started to test constantly, and I was soon in, and managed to get just before the ramps so it was'nt long for another ride. Still an unbelieve thrill ride and an incredible buzz, I just cant get enough of it really, I would be sure to get a few more rides before I left.

I decided to take it easy for the rest of the day as I really didnt feel too great, but still managed another ride(s) on Raptor,Blue Streak,Disaster Transport,Wicked Twister,Corkscrew,Mantis,Millennium Force,Magnum and a few more on Dragster, I also saw Arron Radatz(The Magician) This is a show that is does every year at Cedar Point and I thought he was brilliant, The end act has him escaping from a straightjacket while being suspended above the audience.

To end the evening off from 4.30PM - 8PM, I managed 3 more rides on Dragster and 1 ride on MF with Freeway. Dragster again was stunning with the launch getting more powerful by the end of the day, and the crew were simply outstanding keeping the line moving very fast, and making sure all trains were full each and every time. Simply Amazing and well done to the Crew. Incidently I also met up with another ECC member late in the evening which was good as I was on my own for most of sunday.

All in all, Its been a fantastic Few Days, Dragster complety blew me away, and I'm already considering trying to get back there in the next 2 years or so. It really was that good, No True words can describe it like I said though as it has to be experienced to be believed. Simply INCREDIBLE.

Pictures from my trip are available at the link below, and there are over 100 of them too so I hope you enjoy them :)

Continue to the Pictures