Number 7 for #15 is an impressive entry

Posted on May 10, 2013 by John
All right... the train isn't this fast through the keyholes, but you do pass through them rather quickly...

All right… the train isn’t this fast through the keyholes, but you do get through them fast enough…

On a sun-drenched, Ohio Chamber of Commerce-type day with temps in the mid-70s, Cedar Point officially introduced GateKeeper, its 16th roller coaster. GateKeeper is a relatively new style of coaster, called a “wing” coaster because the riders ride out on the edges of the coaster train, with a sensation that’s sort of like what a wing-walker might experience on a biplane.

The assembled crowd of coaster geeks and media during a brief welcoming ceremony. The event started at 4am [I arrived at 9], and many of the people I rode with had indeed been riding pre-dawn. And some people think *I'm* obsessed.

The assembled crowd of coaster geeks and media during a brief welcoming ceremony. The event started at 4am [I arrived at 9], and many of the people I rode with had indeed been riding pre-dawn.
And some people think *I’m* obsessed.

I was there for Media Day, and am pleased to report that the ride is a superb addition to Cedar Point’s collection of coasters. GateKeeper is the longest coaster of its kind and also boasts the largest drop of 164 feet. Riders enter that drop after experiencing the world’s highest inversion on a coaster— right off the lift hill, the train inverts and dives into a loop. Further moments of airtime happen as the train crests hills and spirals, then it’s time for GateKeeper’s signature element: a spiraling dive through two vertical “keyholes” that brings the words “shit-eating grin” to mind. The keyholes are right over Cedar Point’s brand new front gate, which is simply beautiful. A world-class welcome to a world-class park.

Yes, these people are having more fun than you are right now. Click to see a bigger version and check out those smiles!

Yes, these people are having more fun than you are right now.
Click to see a bigger version and check out those smiles!

The new front gate is almost as much of an attraction as the coaster! Impressively designed, too.

The new front gate is almost as much of an attraction as the coaster! Impressively designed, too.

maingate

I got to ride it six times, in the front, middle and back. The ride is rather different depending on what side of the train you are on, as well as how far in front or back you are. This just makes you want to ride again, and try out the differences in sensation and speed from varying seat locations.

The ride is really unlike anything else at CP: Unlike it’s cousin Raptor — manufactured by the same company and also featuring the dangling leg sensation, GateKeeper flows through its layout with speed metered out in big, graceful arcs, like a skywriter who is practicing his cursive. Raptor is more like a fighter jet, with quick turns and pivots.

turnaround

It’s also insanely photogenic — I can’t wait to come back and shoot some nighttime pics.

shadowpass

The ride and the queue are right along the shore of Lake Erie, which will make the lines a bit more palatable on summer days with an assist from the lake breezes.

The ride and the queue are right along the shore of Lake Erie, which will make the lines a bit more palatable on summer days with an assist from the lake breezes.

I’ve been a Cedar Point geek since 1972, including the summer of 1984 when I was a summer employee. Take it from this geek, GateKeeper is so good it has taken over the #2 spot on my ranking of CP’s coasters. Millennium Force, the 310-foot high, 93-mph wonder on the other side of the peninsula — remains in the top spot. I’ll let Maverick and Dragster battle it out for #3.

Thanks again to Cedar Point for the opportunity to preview this fantastic new machine.

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Continuing Along With List Item #2

Posted on December 27, 2012 by John

All right, time to update the blog… been way too long since the last entry.

Boyhood Memorial Visitor Center

We’ll begin with list item #2, visits to National Park Service units. In July, as part of the mini roller Coaster Tour, we spent some time at the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. Much more than just a cabin in the woods, it’s an expansive area with a very nice visitors center and museum. Lincoln spent fourteen years here, from 1816-1830. The introductory film is even narrated by Leonard Nimoy.

Lincoln's cabin
Visitor Center Entrance

One of the more unusual features of the park is the Trail of Twelve Stones. It’s a trail winding through the woods with twelve stops, each with a stone that was important to Lincoln’s life. For example, stones from the original foundations of the White House and the Capitol, bricks from Mary Todd Lincoln’s birthplace and Abraham’s birthplace, a large block from the house where he wrote the Emancipation Proclamation… and even a stone from where he delivered the Gettysburg Address.

One of the plaques identifying the stones... this one is Gettysburg.

One of the plaques identifying the stones… this one is Gettysburg.


...and myself seated upon it. I know, rather unexciting.

…and myself seated upon it. I know, rather unexciting.

Jan standing atop said stone...

… and Jan standing atop said stone.

I can’t help but smile if Mr. Lincoln could have known that not only did the town closest to where he spent a large chunk of his life would be called Santa Claus and include some of the best rollercoasters on earth, but that his biographical portrait would have been narrated by a beloved sci-fi icon.

The re-creation of Lincoln's boyhood residence.

The re-creation of Lincoln’s boyhood residence.

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Halfway done with #15

Posted on July 29, 2012 by John

Took a quick mini-vacation with Jan, David, Marion and Eric to visit Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana and Kings Island near Cincinnati. Just an extended weekend, but it was a fun trip.

Santa Claus offers numerous opportunities for cheesy photos with the big guy.

I’d been to Holiday World a few years earlier, so none of the coasters there were new to me, but that won’t stop me posting a few pics. Holiday World is home to what I personally consider to be the best wooden coaster ever, a beauty called The Voyage. Set in the Thanksgiving section of the park, The Voyage (163 feet high, with five tunnels and a lengthy 6,442 feet of track) is a great combo of an out-and-back coaster and a twister coaster. It’s amazingly engineered, snuggled into the rolling hills of southern Indiana. It actually feels like it gets faster after the mid-course brake.

The Voyage awaits…

Holiday World is a great park, friendly, family-run and full of unusual perks like free parking and unlimited free soft drinks in the park. It also includes a large waterpark called Splashin’ Safari. We didn’t have a lot of time for the waterpark this trip, but we did ride the new signature attraction, the world’s largest water coaster, appropriately named Mammoth. Taking the power of Linear Induction Motors (LIMs) to a new level, Mammoth propels six-person rafts up and down and up again over its splashy run. I’ve never been on anything like it, and could probably have a very happy day just riding it over and over again.

Here’s a shot of a Mammoth ride tube going uphill. Truly an amazing ride. Photo © Holiday World.

We stayed at the Lake Rudolph campground in one of the new Christmas Cabins, which was fun if somewhat cramped for a tall guy in the shower. And Santa Claus is a charming setting for the park and campground.

After a morning at the Lincoln Boyhood Memorial (more on that in an upcoming post), we headed over to Cincinnati and Kings Island. We got in on Sunday night, and rode the first of two new coasters for me, Diamondback.

Yes, it’s practically that fast…

I had read good things about Diamondback, but wasn’t prepared for such a smooth and fun coaster. This ride has amazing ejector air, plus is so buttery smooth that re-rides are a complete pleasure. The ride doesn’t have the insane intensity of The Voyage, but it’s just as enjoyable as you float over hill after hill after hill. Plus you get a splashdown finale. It’s probably just *that* much better than Apollo’s Chariot that Diamondback sneaks into my top five.

The other new coaster for me at KI was a flying coaster, Firehawk. It’s one where you load and travel up the lift hill lying flat on your back. Only after the train crests the top of the hill does the track turn around and riders hang from the coaster car in an elaborate harness. It was fun enough, but I consider this and similar rides like the Superman coaster at Great America to be more or less “novelty” coasters. Call me a coaster traditionalist, but I like my roller rides where one sits upright and faces forward.

Firehawk in action. There is a giddy feeling of having no idea where the ride is going while on board…

At any rate, we purchased the add-on FastLane passes. FastLane is a “skip the regular line” system in which you purchase a wristband (pricey, even at the “group” rate of $45 each) that lets you use a special entrance that results in basically walking on the most 20 popular rides in the park. On a hot, busy day, like we had, FastLane was a godsend and I’d buy it anytime I visit the park when it’s jammed. The waits were so short, it was like what one gets when visiting on a cool weekday in May. And I’m sure CedarFair’s investors are delighted.

The historic 1799 farmhouse that is still part of the Kirkwood Inn today.

A fun discovery (thanks to TripAdvisor) was the place we stayed in Mason, OH called the Kirkwood Inn. The modern part of the Inn is a nice but not necessarily-out-of-the-mainstream motel, but the rest of the place is beautiful, with expansive grounds scattered with flowers and nature paths through woods. Most impressive of all is a 1799 farmhouse that served as the historic Inn, and was a place where dignitaries like Henry Clay stayed. Today the building is restored and is where the Kirkwood serves up a great breakfast buffet, including some truly awesome peach butter.

Here’s the setting for your breakfast each day at the Kirkwood Inn.

We all had a great time!

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