[Cedar Point] trip review Thursday-Friday

Went to Cedar Point on Thursday and Friday to experience my first Halloweekends at the park. I have been to the park 8 times since 2014 and was excited to get to experience Cedar Point on a Thursday-Friday during the fall where crowds are significantly less during those days. On Thursday we arrived around 6:30 and did not get in until around 7. There was a line out to the parking lot to get in the park. Come to find out their computers were very slow and were taking a while to scan. I wish I would have just went to the Magnum gate, but oh well. I was only able to get on Steel Vengeance and Maverick before we decided to leave to get dinner and check in to our hotel for the night. We knew our full day was on Friday so whatever we could do on Thursday was a bonus.

Here are my ride counts and experiences:

Steel Vengeance: x3, amazing as always. Still my overall number 1

Maverick: 1 night ride on Thursday and 1 ride early on Friday. Maverick is a powerhouse. Balls to the wall the whole time. This was my first night ride on Maverick and it was awesome. The launch in the tunnel in the pitch darkness was incredible.

TT2: x1, After riding the original TTD many times in the past, I was most excited to get my first ride on TT2 on this trip. I went there first thing on Friday and unfortunately there was a slight hiccup (looked like they replaced or tweaked a proximity sensor) in operations which caused what would have been only a 20 minute wait into an hour wait. Nonetheless, I was able to get my ride and it was absolutely worth the extended wait. The profiling on this compared to the original is impressive. You’re out of your seat the whole time when you crest the top hat. Also the spike is insane.

Sirens Curse: x2, Another highly anticipated ride for me on this trip. I came in with mixed expectations and they were shattered. Sirens Curse is a home run addition to Cedar Point. The operations were incredible on this. Only waited 20-30 minutes for this both times we rode it. The layout is action packed and every element delivers. I got a night ride on Friday, and it took the experience to the next level. My first tilt coaster.

Millennium Force: x1, Waited about 15-20 minutes for Millie. It delivered as always. The sense of speed on this ride is unlike any other coaster I’ve been on. Everything about Millennium Force is perfection. The views, the drop, the speed, the low to the ground elements and over banked turns, and the overall length of the ride.

Magnum XL 200 x1, Rode in the magic seat. The airtime insane as always, but I have never been the biggest fan of Magnum. It is just not a comfortable ride for me. Very janky and the lap bars just continue to press down the whole time. By the time you make it to the bunny hills, I’m ready for it to be over.

Gemini: 1, Not much to say here. It’s a fun racing coaster and thankfully it was dueling on Friday. Gemini is still fairly smooth and delivers a fun ride.

Raptor: x1, I can’t help but say this every time I get off Raptor, “ I can’t believe that this is 20 years older than Banshee, yet so much smoother”. Raptor is a solid invert and it is one of my favorite inverts overall. While not as whippy as the Batman Clones, it’s a better overall layout and still delivers in terms of forces.

Valravn: x1, I think Valravn is a perfect filler coaster for Cedar Point. Amazing views, great drop, hang time, and gloss smooth. It’s nothing special but delivers a consistent experience every time. It’s by no means close to being in the elite tier of Cedar Point roller coasters, but it’s certainly respectable for what it’s worth.

Gatekeeper: x1, I have a soft spot for Gatekeeper. It helped spark my interest in Cedar Point as an early teenager who was just getting around to experiencing more parks. Gatekeeper to me is one of the most fun roller coasters out there. It offers a unique experience, has a good drop, incredible views, a great layout that has good inversions with good hangtime, and a little bit of airtime (yes I do get a small pop of airtime on the camelback, lol). Much like Valravn, in my opinion it’s a perfect filler coaster for Cedar Point.

Wild Mouse: x1, another new credit for me. I enjoyed my ride on it. Cedar Point needed a family coaster.

Other comments: The weather was absolutely perfect. The operations were top notch as always. I was particularly impressed with the crew at Sirens Curse. To only have 2 trains, they absolutely pumped out the trains and that like was moving fast. Also, I think most people either overlook or don’t appreciate this about Cedar Point but their food has improved so much over the last 5 years. I actually look forward to eating there now. They have done really well with the new restaurants. We took advantage of the premium all day dining pass and hit a different restaurant each time, and they were all good. Lastly, as I mentioned before, the crowds were very manageable. While not as light as some of the Thursday-Fridays I’ve heard about in the past, everything was averaging 15-30 minutes which is unheard of for Cedar Point. TT2, Maverick, and Steel Vengeance hit an hour wait occasionally but I found it fluctuating throughout the day with as little as 30 minutes and upwards of an hour.

My rankings at Cedar Point:

1. Steel Vengeance
2. Maverick
3. Millennium Force
4. Sirens Curse
5. TT2
6. Gatekeeper
7. Raptor
8. Valravn
9. Magnum XL 200
10. Rougarou