Hey everyone, 2 weeks ago my mom and I went to Cedar Point, and while we had a lot of fun there was a lot we weren't able to do. Well we went back last Friday after I took a half day to try to do what we couldn't do the first time. We bought another all day meal deal and since it wasn't Halloweekend Saturday I was able to get her a discount bring a friend ticket. After work we drove the 150 minute drive and this time we took the toll road, and it went much faster than it did last time. We now remembered why we did the toll road when we were younger. What was great is that since it was a Friday the park wasn't super crowded, and more things were open. We still had some trouble finding parking, but no big deal. We also had our jackets in case it got too cold but didn't want to bring them around the park and so we left them in the car.
I was quite hungry so we wanted to get food first, and the restaurant we wanted to try was kind of in the park from the main entrance. I looked up where it was and the cable car sky ride would take us pretty close to it. This was great because we weren't able to ride that last time. We got in line and our first ride of the day was taking us to a new restaurant. It was pretty cool because it's so high up and we got to see all the things from a different vantage point. Once we got to the destination I realized I made a mistake in my map reading, because the restaurant was not actually that close. Whatever, we just walked over to the place. The restaurant we wanted to try was Derby Dog, a gourmet hot dog place, and unfortunately it was closed. That sucked, but thankfully another place we wanted to try was close by, the Coral. Mom looked it up and they supposedly had a Texas sandwich we thought would be like brisket, but unfortunately the website wasn't updated and it was chicken fingers and pizza, so we got the pizza. It wasn't very good pizza though, but the fries it came with were good so there's that.
After eating we made our way over to the boardwalk area to ride max air and windseaker, 2 rides we wanted to do last time but couldn't due to the wind. Since max air was closest we did it first. Max Air is this swinging ride that spins you around while swinging you back and forth really high up. It's quite a fun ride, and we didn't have to wait very long because it holds 50 people and the park wasn't that busy. It was really fun. After that we made our way to windseaker, the swing ride that spins you around like 300 feet in the air. As I said last time, it doesn't seem like it would be very thrilling but when you get up that high it's pretty wild. We had to wait for 1 ride and then it was our turn. We got our seat number, we got in the seat, we got fastened in, and then they had to close it down because of wind. So close, but no. Oh well. Because I wanted to see the arcade we went back to the Derby Dogs area so I could go to the Coliseum Arcade. I didn't want to play anything, just walk around, and it was pretty cool. It didn't have the video games and pinball machines I remember from when I was young, but it did have skeeball and basketball games, and many claw games and coin pushers. There was even a 9 hole minigolf course, which was pretty cool. Mom even thought it was pretty cool, but that was basically it. At this point we decided to make our way to the back of the park where it gets scary at night, We did the power tower on our walk back because it was a walk on and is a fun one, and where we sat we got a good view of the top thrill 2 construction. That was pretty cool. As we walked by we saw that camp snoopy wasn't running, which was too bad for the kids because it has a lot of fun rides. It also meant we weren't able to do the pipe scream, but that was OK. We went by the Gemini and it was closed, not sure why but it was. No matter, our plan was to ride the Maverick, a roller coaster with a 95 degree drop.
When we got to the back it was time for our next meal, and we went to the farmhouse kitchen and grill where we got steak and fried smashed potatoes. The steak was pretty good and the potatoes were really interesting. How to describe them? They were kind of like the red skin potato wedges that are pretty common at a barbecue place, only instead of roasted and sautéed they were deep fried, and were quite yummy. Before Maverick we rode skyhawk, a big swinging ride that just swings you back and forth really high up. That was also a walk on, and was really fun. OK, now it's time for the big one, the Maverick. We knew this would be a long wait considering the last time we were there the fast pass line was 45 minute, but this time it only took about an hour for us to get on it. Boy was it fun, the 95 degree drop, the speed, the minor story with the western mine scene, and so smooth, and we ended up sitting in row 1 just by chance. Really fun, worth the hour it took to wait. When we got off it was time to eat again, and we went to sagebrush Sue's a corndog and fried cheese place. We decided to get the fried cheese on a stick, mozzarella cheese fried in corn dog batter. It was good, and we sent a picture to our Evansville relatives who were having their fall festival at that time. It's a southern city, they have a lot of fried food, and they appreciated seeing what we did.
The next ride we were going to ride is the only other ride of note in the back there, Steel Vengeance. For some reason it won't allow you to have metal on you and you have to go through metal detectors and store all your stuff in a locker. We were ready to get the locker but since it had a visibly long line and my pants had metal rivets in it I said "better to check to make sure this is OK." Turns out the line wasn't all that long, it was just that people were waiting for it to open, because it was closed, again. That was frustrating, but we said "at least we didn't get a locker," and after a little research I found it used to be the mean streak (the ride that was too rough on Mom when she was young) and it used a lot of the old track, so it was probably for the best. With nothing else to really do we got on the train and road it to the next stop. This was a really popular ride when we were little, because my brother loved trains as a kid. On the train there's this scene of skeletons in an old west kind of town, and it's always there year round and has been the same show for at least 25 years (probably longer). The train took us to where the Millennium Force and Rougarou were, which was great because we didn't ride those the last time. The Rougarou was a pretty new roller coaster so we expected a kind of long wait, but it was basically a walk on, which was great. As a hanging coaster I couldn't wear my loose fitting crocks, and the ride said "no loose articles, you will need a locker," so we spent the $3 to get a locker. I put my shoes in because we already had the locker and might as well use it to it's full extent, and while it wasn't that bad walking on the cement it was kind of painful on the grated steel steps. That wasn't fun. We were put in the back row this time and it was a really fun coaster. Once we got back the ride operator asked mom and I if we wanted to go again since there wasn't a line, and we said sure. Twice was enough though. Next we were going to try Millennium Force, a ride that was going to be a 1.25 hour wait, but since Mom had trouble once with the seat we made sure she could fit in it. Unfortunately she couldn't so we didn't. Since we were close to the Panda Express of the park and it was about time to eat again, we went there. We got the platter of orange chicken, beef and broccoli, fried rice, and cow main. When I went to scan my band I had to wait another 30 seconds because it hadn't been 90 minutes yet, but then the cashier rescanned after 30 seconds and all was good. It was Panda Express, decent quality fast Chinese food.
So now we're kind of back at the middle front, and now for some other rides. I wanted to ride on Magnum XL but mom didn't since it was made in 1989, and with a 30 minute wait she decided to just sit it out and let me do it. Since I was by myself on this one I just watched some videos I had on my phone and basically just waited for the ride. It was a pretty fun ride, though mom was right, it was kind of jerky and wouldn't have been good for her. The exit to the ride was kind of far from the entrance and where mom was waiting, so she was starting to wonder where I was. Since we were close to back beat que we went to it for our next meal. We got pulled pork and potato wedges. It was pretty good, nothing special but still good and would recommend.
It's getting late at this point so we're starting to get tired. Our next ride was Raptor, one of the older rides from at least around when I was really little. Last time it was a long wait, but since this was a not super busy day it was only like a 20 minute wait. While we were waiting there was a maintenance room with a roof that had a bunch of live strong bands and hair bands shot onto it. Oh man, live strong bands were so crazy to see; those were probably close to 20 years old now. So wild to see. When we road on the ride it had the ride pictures. I tried to do a Gene Simmons (tongue out), but I missed the photo so it was just me smiling. After Raptor we went to the grand pavilion and had steak and lobster bisque, and just rested for about 30 minutes in the warm restaurant. After that we went on Wild Mouse, one of those roller coasters that has like 4 people per car. Mom said she never road one because it's such a slow loader. Mom really enjoyed it, but it was kind of jerky. The next ride was the Atomic Scrambler. It's a fun spinning ride, and was quite fun. We also did the dodgem cars, and I forgot how much fun they are, Since we were right by max air and it was a walk on we decided to ride it again, and I took my shoes off to make sure they didn't fall off and it was cold. Someone else who was wearing crocks did the same thing and after the ride said "bro your feet must be freezing, I know because mine are." At this point we had rode pretty much every ride we could have except for the carousels. We decided we were just going to do the Cedar Downs Racing Derby, a carousel that goes really fast and is meant to feel like a race track. Mom was like "you need to help me get on and off." She sat on one of the inner horses and I sat on one of the outer horses (because that would be the fastest one). It was kind of crazy since it isn't that much unlike a normal carousel, and by that I mean "you're just sitting on it without any safety restraints." Since we were getting tired it was kind of wild, like we felt "make sure to hold on and don't fall off," and there were some times where I felt like I was going to fall off. Mom was like "wow that was crazy, and all the while I was thinking 'I've made it this far, don't get hurt by falling off a horse on a carousel.'" At this point we were done, we got one more meal at Hugo's Italian Kitchen where we got pizza and a Caesar salad.
OK, it's like 11 at night, we are tired and cold, we found our way to the car and just sat in it with the heat on for some minutes. Mom put in the directions for the motel and we made it there before midnight. Mom checked us in and got our room. As we were unpacking I realized I forgot my overnight bag at home, meaning I wasn't going to be able to change my clothes or brush my teeth. I finger scrubbed my teeth the best I could, but it didn't do a whole lot (my teeth felt really dirty the following day). I slept pretty long, long enough for Mom to go for a swim at the motel pool. After I woke up and Mom went swimming we packed up our stuff and went to McDonalds for breakfast. This is when I learned there's a pokemon promotion going on right now and now I need to get all the toys. We drove for a while and stopped at the turn pike rest stop mostly for old times sakes. I played one of the games and won a bouncy ball (because playing the games was a big thing when I was a kid).
Once we got home I said my goodbyes to mom, saw where the bag was, and showered and changed my clothes and really brushed my teeth. It felt good to not feel so gross. In terms of food we saved $95.43, though it might be less because I now realize I have the all season pass instead of just the all day pass. I might have to go back one more time just to make sure I get all the food. Maybe mskate and I can go one day since there's a lot of food she would be able to eat, but if not maybe I'll just go by myself. It was really fun, and highly recommend. This has been Pokematic, signing off, and bu-bye.
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