My Cedar Point/Kings Island Vacation - 8/15-17, 2009

Here is my full PTR from my August 2009 Ohio two-park trip. I really enjoyed this vacation, rode lots of coasters (most being new credits, a few some repeat rides since my 1998/99 trips to these parks). Overall it was a great vacation, with excellent weather and just alot of fun!

First off was Cedar Point. We arrived at the Breaker's Express Saturday (8/15) and got a nice third floor room right by the elevators, making it for very easy access to and from the parking lot. Since we were staying with the Cedar Point resorts. we were eligible for the 9 am early entry into the park Sunday morning. More onto that then.


The main sign along Cleveland Rd at the entrance to Cedar Point Drive.

Breaker's Express was nice and simple. The rooms were really nice and clean (at least where we stayed). After an excellent meal at Cracker Barrel, we made our way over to Battery Park, along Lake Erie to take in the excellent, commanding views of Cedar Point. It was nice to see the park from over there and the rides running. The weather was gorgeous, the waves were crashing against the rocks by the marina. Overall, it almost reminded me of being at the shore, only 100% better!








That's the reason why I'm here!


A boater making their way across Lake Erie.


Coastermatt and Coaster Al can't get enough of one of the sweetest skylines around!








The next morning we ate breakfast at McDonald's across the street and were at the park early, claiming a very good parking spot by the main entrance gate. We were in promptly at nine and dad and I headed straight for Maverick, the first ride of the trip. Unfortunately since we were immediately going to Millennium Force afterward, I was unable to get pics, and we never made it back to this area of the park again for me to do so later. Overall, Maverick really packs a punch! Some nice airtime, an excellent launch through the tunnel, and some sweet tight turns round out for a very good ride. My comparison of this ride to Fahrenheit is pretty close, although I am more impressed with Fahrenheit's tall and steeper first drop. Other than that, I rate both rides around the same place on my favorite coaster list.


We stopped and got a pic by this sign located at the entrance to the Causeway



I had to snap a pic of the ride restriction signs as these were pretty cool looking.






The main entrance to the park.

The next coaster was Millennium Force. We managed to get the second seat. I thought experience was intense and lots of airtime. I also enjoyed the smoothness of the ride, as well as finale where you smoothly go from 65 - 0 mph in a matter of seconds! I would definitely ride this coaster again and I can't wait to hear people's reviews of Intimitator 305 (when it opens in the spring) and the comparison between the two.

After I managed to get these two coasters into my credits, it was time for the park to open to everyone else. By this time, we just did what we wanted to for the remainder of the day.





Even though I am not a fan of stand-up coasters, I thought Mantis was really impressive to just watch (this even goes from when I was at the park back in 1998). I guess I enjoy the thrill of watching riders having fun (since I've become a "major" enthusiast since that time, even when I'm not on the ride itself.




Iron Dragon was fun and "tamer" compared to Big Bad Wolf and Flight Deck. It can be considered more of a "family coaster". I hope the park keeps it so that families can enjoy riding it together.





I really enjoyed Magnum alot, although it was alot rougher than Steel Force. I think the roughness is what really added to the ride, besides all the airtime on the hills throughout the ride. I put this one towards the top of my list.



We rode both sides of Gemini. This was a really, really, great ride, sort of reminded me of the Comet at Hershey, just racing with another train, plus a little smoother. This is thanks to the steel rails on the wooden structure. There were also some great "head-chopper" effects as the ride went back under the main structure, which really added to the experience. Overall, it turned out to be a great ride!



The Junior Gemini.



The Space Spiral can be considered the "double decker" version of Hershey's Kissing Tower. The ride offers some commanding views of the entire park, as well as Lake Erie and Sandusky Bay. The only downside to this ride is, they don't offer you as many revolutions as the Kissing Tower, making it a slightly shorter ride.












As you can see from these pics that I took from the Space Spiral, Cedar Point "is" the world's largest amusement park. Everything is spread out everywhere you look.


This placed opted for a great photo op, so I couldn't resist!



We bumped into Charlie Brown along the way. The last time I was here (1998) was the final season for the Berenstein Bears. I think the Peanuts characters are a better touch for the park. It was nice seeing some of them at Dorney Park several years ago when during my last visit there.





maXair is the park's Huss Frisbee ride.





Wildcat may look aged and "very dated" but when you ride it, the ride itself does pack quite a punch.

Even though I didn't have the chance to ride it, Top Thrill Dragster is as impressive looking as it would probably be to ride.







0-120 mph in a matter of seconds!



Going up....


Cresting the top....


Going down....way down!

















Raptor was one of the best B&M inverted coasters I've ever ridden! This ride tops up with Talon and Montu, with Great Bear trailing behind. This was also the second invert that I've ridden with a cobra roll element (the other was Alpengist at Busch Gardens Williamsburg). The ride had some great intensity, especially with the helix at the end of the ride. Also for a nominal charge, they sell on-ride videos (thanks to mounted cameras hidden on each row, including the front row) of your experience. Make for a nifty souvenir too! Overall, I'd definitely ride this one again!









These are the many flat rides that Cedar Point has to offer.









Some Sky Ride pix (with the latter taken from the ride).





I did manage to snap these few pics of Mean Streak. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to ride it.



This turned out to be one of my favorite Cedar Point pictures from the trip. Corkscrew was very short, but the ride did pack quite a punch. The first drop was a little rough and intense. To put it this way, I thought Vortex at Kings Island was alot smoother than this coaster. It was still fun though.





And a stroll through Planet Snoopy wouldn't be complete without a pic with a statue of the famous Beagle himself!


I thought this came out very colorful.


Towards the later part of the afternoon, we ate dinner at the Midway Market. The food was good but was very pricy, having just missed the cheaper lunch pricing which made us frustrated.



A nice shot of Cedar Point at sunset brings Part One of our Ohio vacation to a close. Overall, this trip to the Point was well worth it, way better than my last. With 17 coasters and al those rides, it was impossible to do most of it in one day but we made the most of it and managed to get alot accomplished.

We left the park around 7 pm and went to bed early to prepare for the 3 1/2 hr drive to Cincinatti early the next morning.

New coaster credits accomplished for me at Cedar Point during this trip:
-Maverick
-Millennium Force
-Raptor
-Gemini
-Magnum XL-200
-Wildcat
-Iron Dragon
-Corkscrew
These add onto my Blue Streak and Cedar Creek Mine Ride credits from 1998.

We're on the road at approximately 5:15 in morning, leaving Breaker's Express for Cincinatti. Our TripTik directions had us going some scenic way through small towns down to Columbus. On the way there, we stopped at a convenience store for coffee/hot chocolate. The only snarl was hitting the morning work traffic through Columbus, but even that went pretty smoothly.

We arrived at our hotel, the Comfort Inn on Fields Ertel Rd at about 9:30, checked in and received our discounted park tickets. We arrived at the park at approximately a quarter till 10 and had an excellent spot not far from the park's main entrance. We managed to be there for the opening, something I didn't think was going to happen.








Once we made our way back through the park, I immediately went back to Firehawk, which was temporarily closed. Because of this, my father and I made our way over to Diamondback, which turned out to be the first ride of the day.


Cresting the lift.


Heading towards the helix and splashdown.


Going through the splashdown, which was spectacular to watch.


Going through the helix.


I was really impressed on how Cedar Fair really spruced up Rivertown with the addition of this ride. These Diamondback banners were a nice touch.

I was really impressed with this ride! I rode in the front right seat and the view was just incredible. The experience of looking right down to the bottom of the first drop was amazing and I also loved the amount of airtime throughout the ride. Overall, this ride can be compared to Apollo's Chariot, IMO.


After Alex and my mom finally met back up with us, we walked back to the Beast.








I really enjoyed this round on my favorite wooden roller coaster this time than during my last trip in 1999. I guess as the coaster enthusiast took its toll on me, my opinion has changed on previously-ridden coasters that I've done prior to now. The speed, ride time, and the fact that your back in the woods, is what really makes this ride.









I loved Vortex! This ride was way better than Corkscrew at Cedar Point. IMO, the ride was smooth and very intense through the inversions. No jerking, as of the roughness in Corkscrew's first drop and vertical loop. I think it even surpassed Anaconda at Kings Dominion, which was slightly shorter.




From the looks of the many pictures I have seen of this ride (even back during the Italian Job days), I thought this was going to be a bummer. Boy was I wrong. While it wasn't the most intense launched coaster I've ridden, the ride did pack quite a punch. I was impressed with the ups and downs, and the zig-zagging through the ride props, which were pretty much all running the day we were there.









Unlike Iron Dragon, Flight Deck was a really thrilling ride. I enjoyed the various points through the ride where the cars flew almost sideways. The force was definitely felt. IMO, overall, this can be compared to Big Bad Wolf which I also really enjoyed when I rode it back in 2005.





Just a few random shots.







Racer started off the day with the Red side running, then eventually went to both sides. By the time I had the chance to ride it, they went back to only running the Red side again, which was beneficial to me since I rode the Blue side on my last trip (would have been the forward side back then) so now I have both sides of the coaster under my credits. I forgot how good this coaster is. I compare to the Comet at Hershey. They both deliver just about the same amount of thrill. Speed and lots of airtime!


Here are some Eiffel Tower pix thrown in for good measure:


International Street and the main entrance gate.


Diamondback and Rivertown


Backlot Stunt Coaster


Vortex and the Beast




Firehawk, the Racer, and Coney Mall




Action Zone






Nickelodeon Universe


Boomerang Bay





It's too bad Son of Beast was shut down for the rest of the season. The fate of this ride is currently unknown.


Onto Nickelodeon Universe. I'm happy we got to see this area before Snoopy invades the park next year. It will be nice to see what Cedar Fair plans to do with the Peanuts characters in this area, as well as the other former Paramount parks, considering these areas are considerably larger than Planet Snoopy at Cedar Point.



Spongebob!



We managed to get our pic taken with a statue of Patrick.



Little Bill's Giggle Coaster



I love how Plankton's Plunge looks verus the generic Frog Hopper rides. I wonder what they'll do to this ride when Snoopy comes in.







We did manage to ride the Runaway Reptar. This is an excellent example of what a family coaster is all about and I hope Cedar Fair keeps the ride for the benefit of parents and children riding it together.







I didn't ride this on my last visit before the Wild Thornberry's layover was applied. I thought it was a nice, lengthy ride. Thanks to the elephant, the ride had a nice cool ending, which was needed on a hot day.



Looks like Dora decided to hang out with us for a little bit.



I thought Blue's Skidoo was very colorful.



And who can't forget the blue ice cream!



I remembered this entrance arch from my last visit. I hope the park does what it can to make Coney Mall look nicer. It seems like the back end near the Vortex is somewhat isolated. Perhaps a few new flats could go in back there.







Delirium is exactly like Cedar Point's maXair. Just showing some captions of it swinging in action.





Kings Island's train reminds me alot of Walt Disney World's trains. It's probably one of my favorite railroads that can be found at a theme park other than Disney.



I thought this place looked rather cool!



As the saying goes, "always save the best for last". And that's exactly what I did. If you look to the right, you will see me (wearing the bright orange t-shirt) getting ready to board Firehawk, which would be my last ride of the trip. This was my very first flying coaster experience and let me say, it was incredible. That's really the best way I can say it in words - incredible!!!! The seats were comfortable and the extreme force against your body is amazing! Overall, I rate this ride 11/10 with 10 being the ultimate. I look forward to riding more flying coasters in the near future.



And I end this PTR with a nice view of the royal fountains.

Since the park closed at 8:00 that day, we left about seven. After grabbing a quick meal at Wendy's, we relaxed back at our hotel for the rest of the evening. The next morning, we woke up early, had a delicious continental breakfast at the hotel, and then it was time to hit the road for home.

New coaster credits accomplished for me at Kings Island during this trip:
-Diamondback
-Firehawk
-Racer (red side for this trip)
-Backlot Stunt Coaster
-Vortex
-Runaway Reptar
-Flight Deck

These add onto my Adventure Express, Racer (forward back then, blue side now), and the Beast credits from 1999. Including the coasters I have ridden in my last trips to these parks, I have ridden a total of about 17 or 18 coasters during this vacation.

Overall, I had a really great time and this probably was one of the best trips ever, besides all of the Disney World trips I have taken over the years.

Our next major vacation will be Walt Disney World in September of 2010.

Great pictures Matt!