Cedar Point

We went out to Cedar Point again over the weekend. Fathers Day turned out to be a pretty good day to go, and there was great weather this year (temp in 70's, sunny). The parking lot was only half full (up to row 33), and we managed to find a prime spot in row 21, which is just beyond the handicap row nearest the gates.

It must have been Gay Pride day, though, for we noticed an unusually high number of same-sex couples, some sporting pretty funny slogans on T-Shirts, and some dressed in stereotypic "flaming" attire.

The usual eye candy was out and about, but there's a disturbing trend starting where young teenagers are dressing like the older eye candiers. Also, I think braless-ness is a growing trend this year for some reason. Should make walking around the back part of Frontier Trail a little interesting (that's where the water rides are).

And now for my review of the coasters that I got to ride (only a few so far this year):

Blue Streak
This oldie is still pretty good. A wooden coaster built in the mid-1960's. I took my 7 year-old on it for the first time, and she found it pretty frightening. The seats are a lot narrower than I remember (or my waistline is a lot larger than I remember), and it doesn't seem to have as much negative G's as before.

Iron Dragon
My daughter loves this ride, maybe because the train is more enclosed than other rides, so she doesn't feel like she's going to fall out. It's a slower inverted coaster (one of the first of its kind, but later trumped by the Raptor), but still has some thrilling moments.

Gemini
A great wooden racing coaster with hardly any wait at all. In the end, my daughter said that this is a fun ride, but she didn't like the lift hill (that seems to be a recurring theme, and will probably persist until she gets used to the clack-clack-clack noise). The best parts of this coaster is when the track goes through the framing--you think you're going to hit the frame, but dip just in time. There's also a thrilling loop towards the end that provides for some increased G's.

Disaster Transport
This used to be the Avalanch Run, a bobsled coaster, when I was a kid. They later enclosed the whole thing in a big building and added special effects and blacklights to the waiting area to create an experience where you have to evacuate from some catastrophe. Much of the ride itself is in blackout conditions, which is absolutely a thrilling experience. My daughter could ride this over and over again! The building is air conditioned, which helps escape the heat on hot days.