Collin on Coasters: The Best Coastermania Event Yet!

It is that time of the year again when the greatest amusement park in the world (in my opinion) hosts one of the best coaster enthusiast events of the year. I love Coastermania and attempt to go every year if possible. I have only missed two Coastermania events since 2009. This was my 6^th Coastermania trip since the first year I went in 2009 and it ended up being the best of all of them. You know what that means? Keep reading to find out.

Yes I do Love Roller Coasters

Greatest Amusement Park in the Universe

This year I was already at Cedar Point with my entire family and this would be my final day of the season at the park. Let me just say that I went out with a bang. I attended Coastermania solo this year unlike in 2015 when I was hanging out with my friend Derk. The main difference between Coastermania 2015 and coaster 2016 was that they actually charged enthusiasts an extra $30 fee on top of their season pass or single day tickets. This is honestly a steal of a deal considering all of the extras you get. They also limited the group to 1200 people which greatly lessened crowding issues. There was way over 1500 people at the 2015 Coastermania event which caused a few issues. No issues this year though.

Check out that Lift Hill...

...And that Drop!

HUGE Coaster

I got up around 6:00 am and then headed to the park around 6:30 am to get in the huge check-in line. Even though the line was really long it moved very fast. Cedar Point is very efficient in moving people through lines. I picked up my lunch ticket, event lanyard, and Coastermania t-shirt at registration. I always enjoy wearing the lanyard around the park all day. It makes me feel like a VIP (haha). It's also nice that they have the event schedule on the back so you can see what is going on throughout the day. The t-shirt was extremely cool this year with all of the roller coasters on the front.

The extra ride time this year was set to start at 7:00 am on Valravn, Gatekeeper, and Millennium Force. I knew everyone would probably head to Valravn, since it was new, so I decided to start at Millennium Force. I got in about four rides over the next 45 minutes. Millennium Force never disappoints. It is pure fun from when it leaves the station until it hits the brakes. Almost everyone on every train has their hands in the air reveling in the fact they are riding the world’s first 300-foot-tall roller coaster.

Love you Millennium

I headed over to Valravn next and noticed it had NO line! In the words of Austin Powers, “yeah baby!” I got in six rides on Valravn in about 45 minutes. Not too shabby for a ride that easily carries over an hour wait during the day. This is Cedar Point’s newest roller coaster and it does deliver a fun and thrilling ride. The views from the top are outstanding as you get to look out over the massive Lake Erie. The 90-degree vertical drop is fun and the speed is great. The loops are nice however the ride is a little short. It is still a great coaster for Cedar Point though.

The New Ride this Year

ERT Baby!

I went right next door and took a few, two to be exact, rides on the historic Blue Streak. This ride is the oldest remaining roller coaster (1964) at Cedar Point and it still delivers a fun ride. I find it to be an underrated wooden coaster even. It isn’t very tall or long but it does deliver air time and some out of control moments. It is also a fairly smooth coaster for as old as it is.

Iconic Coaster

The morning ERT had come to an end and I met back up with Ashley and the kids (yes, I blogged about this in another post so check it out). Coastermania wouldn’t be Coastermania without a catered lunch that usually does not disappoint. They served hot dogs, fried chicken, mac and cheese, salad, and pasta. There were also cookies for desert and you can never go wrong with cookies.

Happy to Ride Valravn

One of the key items for this Coastermania event was the Jet Express cruise that was offered during the event. Seriously, this cruise ended up being one of the coolest things that I have ever done at Cedar Point! I had the 2:00 pm reservation time so I queued up in the long line to board around 1:45 pm. As with every trip I take to Cedar Point I always find something new on each of my visits. This time it was the marina area which I had never been before. It was really nice and offered great views of this side of the park.

Boat!

I'm on a Boat!

America's Roller Coast

I see a Marina and Four Coasters in this Shot

The cruise left the marina side of Cedar Point by Sandusky Bay and took us around the entire Cedar Point peninsula. The cruise also took us over to see the Marblehead lighthouse, the oldest operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes (1820). It was an incredible cruise. For a coaster/amusement park junkie like myself I was in awe of the visual it created. It was like looking at an island of roller coasters and rides from the water. I took so many great pictures and enjoyed not only the scenery but the beautiful weather as well. I have included more pictures at the end of this blog post so keep reading.

The Front of the Park

The Back of the Park

Soaking it all in

Awesome Lighthouse

The evening ERT was set to start at 10:30 pm but before that I managed to get a couple of end of the day rides on the classic Magnum XL-200. I was on the last train of the night and it just so happened that the trim break, mid-ride, was turned off. When the trim break is turned off on Magnum you know you are in for an insane ride on the return trip. This ride was built in 1989 and it still holds a special place in enthusiast circles.

Ready to ride Magnum XL-200

Top Thrill Dragster, Power Tower, Valravn, and Maverick were all open for extra ride time from 10:30 pm until 12:30 am. Yup that was two hours of absolute fun. I got in five straight rides on the 420 foot 120 miles per hour Top Thrill Dragster and did not wait at all for any of those rides! It was unbelievable. I have never seen Top Thrill that dead before. There is no adrenalin rush quite like sitting on the Top Thrill Dragster track waiting to be launched 120 mph in just four seconds. Yup, that’s right, a one hundred and twenty miles per hour launch in just four seconds over a four hundred and twenty-foot-tall tower! While the ride may only last 17 seconds the experience is one not to be forgotten.

The Thrill is Real

No lines YO...

...and I am loving it!

Since it was right next to Top Thrill Dragster I decided to take a ride on the Power Tower drop side. It is a fun ride and gives you a great view of Valravn and Millennium Force from the top. I knew I was going to end my day at Maverick so I made my way to the back of the park. I spent the next hour grabbing 9 rides on Maverick. The first three of them they made us walk around but the last six rides I never had to get out of my seat! I could not believe it. Never in all of my time at Cedar Point had I ever had the opportunity to just stay seated on Maverick for consecutive rides. It was an epic end to an epic wonderful day.

You rarely see no lines at Maverick

Pretty

ERT Scorecard

4x Millennium Force

6x Valravn

2x Blue Streak

5x Top Thrill Dragster

Power Tower down

9x Maverick

27 rides during both two hour ERT sessions

Here are some pictures of the Coasters spotted from the Jet Express II cruise. It was amazing to be able to see them all from the water.

310 Foot Millennium Force 420 Foot Top Thrill Dragster

GateKeeper Soars over the Front Entrance

Maverick in all its Glory

Valravn the Worlds Tallest Dive Coaster

Mean Streak may you RIP

More pictures from the Jet Express II cruise. I took so many pictures because, well, it was fascinating to me to see all of Cedar Point from the water. It was seriously one of the coolest things that I have ever done at the park.