My son Nick and I are ardent coaster aficionados. We’re planning a trip to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio this spring to ride the (now under construction) Millennium Force which boasts a 310-foot 80 degree first hill and a top speed of 92 mph.
Up till then, our fave coaster is the Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America near Chicago (280 feet, 73 mph). We’ve been on coasters in California and all over Florida, but none even come close to the BULL. Anyone been to Cedar Point or have a good coaster they recommend? (Wood is good, but iron rules!)
Yep, the Blue Streak is still there, although it was rebuilt a bit just a couple years ago. Some people I know say it just isn’t the same. I still get there at least once a year; it’s only about an hour from my front door. www.cedarpoint.com
Dopeler effect:
The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
Cedar point rocks. I’m only a casual coaster fan, but I know many ppl who are really into it consider CP as the coaster park.
But be prepared for loooooong lines for the new coaster, esp one of that level of fame. I was there just after they built the Magnum-XL (then, the largest coaster in the world), and the line for it was horrendous. I bet the Millenium will be just as bad.
I also make the trek to the Point once every summer. My favorite ride there is The Raptor. Belive it or not, I also love riding the Mine Ride. Not for the fact that the ride is big on the puss factor, I ride it because when I get to scream bloody mary on every little turn and drop and get the oddest looks and the most insane reactions from passengers. (Screaming in the building right before the first hill is a must as well!)
Millenium force is going to be awesome, the wait for the ride is going to be a bitch, but its definitely going to be worth it. CP really dissapointed me with Mantis, so I’m hoping they can redeem themselves with MF.
I also think that taking the Power Tower Down is much better than going Up.
“I may be crazy, but at least I’m not as crazy as you.”-- Calvin and Hobbes
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Speaking of King’s Island, one of my favorite roller coasters is The Beast. It was a record holder when built, and it’s still one of the longest coasters in the world (about 1.5 miles, I think). Haven’t been there in a long time, though, and I’ve heard The Beast isn’t what it used to be–too much braking.
Dueling Dragons and The Hulk at Islands of Adventure in Orlando. Also The Rockin’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith at The Disney-MGM Studios is a rush. It’s an indoor loop the loop tour of LA with 10 speakers blasting Aerosmith’s greatest hits in every car.
Montu at Busch Gardens in Tampa. Climb, dive, roll, loop…yahooo! And your feet just dangle there.
IIRC, Cedar Point has a very similar ride, just with a different name.
I’d love to take my kid to Cedar Point. I’ve looked through their brochure, and it looks like a gas. (Cheap bastards won’t give me a travel agents’ discount, though.)
Cedar Point would be a neat place for the Teeming Millions Convention. We could all fly into Cleveland, rent cars (ambulances, beer trucks, whatever) and have a “Guy Stuff Road Trip” to Cedar Point.
Ah, good ol’ CP. I worked there one summer in college, and go as often as I can. The Raptor is, indeed, a GREAT suspended coaster; and the big new wooden one whose names escapes me right now is a thrill also.
Nickrz, there’s also a park outside Pittsburgh called Kennywood that boasts some good coasters as well. It’s only about a 5-hour drive from Sandusky.
Kennywood Amusement Park in Pittsburgh PA was widely known as the “Roller Coaster Capital of the World”, and they have some great wooden coasters i.e. The Jackrabbit, Thunderbolt, and The Racer. Even though they’re old, they still give you a major rush. If you prefer the smooth ride of the new steel coasters, they have the “Steel Phantom” which puts your stomach in your throat for most of the ride.
I’ve rode coasters that were fancier, scarcier, faster than the Comet (Hersheypark, Hershey, PA) , but that old wooden coaster (built 1946) is still my favorite. I couldn’t count how many times I rode it, having grown up 15 minutes away from the park. Season passes, smugglin’ sodas in to avoid the $1 a can raping you endured inside the park, spending allowances in the video arcade. ahhh those were the days…
Six Flags over Mid-America has a Batman coaster which, at one point, makes it appear as though it’s going to dash you into the ground. It’s a harness-based coaster; there’s no cars. The rails are above the seats, and they join at the top of the back supports. One of the last drops goes so low, it honestly looks as though you’re going to lose your legs. And for pure fear factor, you can’t beat the Screaming Eagle at that park. Rickety as all hell, I swear I can hear the bolts popping loose every time I get on it.
Then he said, “That is that.”
And then he was gone.
-Dr. Seuss, * The Cat in the Hat*
Yeah, its the Raptor. (It was also built before Montu.)
I’ve also been to Busch Gardens in Tampa and thought the Montu kicked ass. The other ride I rode was the Kumba or something like that. It was pretty cool- hurt my ears a bit though.
The Beast at King’s Island is super kick ass, by far the best wooden rollar coaster of all time.
A new coaster at KI is going to be the Son of the Beast, a wooden coaster that goes upside down! (Don’t know how they’ll pull it off, loops on wooden coasters just doesn’t mix if you ask me)
The Mean Streak at Cedar Point is awsome, yet the rest of my family hates it though. They say its too jerky. I think its got classic wooden coaster flavor.
“I may be crazy, but at least I’m not as crazy as you.”-- Calvin and Hobbes
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Yaaaaaaay! Cedar Point!! That’s one of the things I miss the most since I moved away from the Motor City…
I LOOOOOOOVE the Mantis, & the big wooden guy (isn’t it the biggest in the East or something? or like the oldest? I don’t remember), but the Raptor is the BEST!!
Do peoples’ shoes ever fall off while riding the Raptor? Every time I go on it, I take off my shoes & put them down my shirt, because I am SURE that I will lose them otherwise.
I dunno the Viper at Six Flags Magic Mountain rips to the tits.
But I do have to agree the Outer Limits Flight of Fear was truly one of the best coasters. You have no idead what to expect and are immediately launched into a double loop? Gotta respect that.
Of course, when they build that roller coaster from House on Haunted Hill (one of the few good things of the movie) I will be first in line.
If you have not seen the movie, one of the main characters builds this coaster around fear of coaster failures. You have to ride a elevator to the boarding but the coaster seems to lose its manning and plunges to earth then opens and you board. You see a coaster in front of you fly off the track at a broken link which seals itself right before you hit it( a optical illusion). Also a person next to you loses a arm and coats you in blood (a actor and prop)
Can you imagine a coaster like that? I could actually see people having heart attacks and poissing themselves with something like that.
I know that I have put you through hell, and I know that I have been one rough pecker. But from here on, you are all in my cool book.- Seth Gecko From Dusk Till Dawn
Thanks for all the input! We rode all the coasters at Busch Gardens and both Universals in Florida last August. Montu was pretty spectacular (we rode that one 8 times, front car is definitely the best). Kwazi (dueling coaster, wood) was kind of a yawner, but got the “most rickety” award from the kidling. Kumba was touted as being a good one, too, but we found it uninspiring.
Dueling Dragons at Universal Islands of Adventure was the best for the sheer terror of the imminent collision with the other train. Since you cannot see where the tracks are going on an inverted coaster, the outside loop at the last split-second has the other people’s shoes flying past your face at about 100 mph. Geeeezis. Also, the last car on the fire dragon train offers almost 3 seconds of air time coming across the top of the second hill. It’s tits. Not to mention we discovered the “back door” when exiting the ride - you walk about 40 feet and cut through a hallway - you’re right back at the front of the line (it was not crowded at all). We managed to ride the fire train 8 times and the ice train 6, all in about 2 hours.
I dunno if we’ll have time to check out other parks - where’s this King’s Island place in relation to CP? (And thanks, Phil, but we’re driving from Chicago, and another 5 hours east (i.e. Kennywood)is too much for this trip).
PS. You can buy season passes to Cedar Point online for $98.00 till the end of the year.