I'm sure I'll be labeled crazy by some, what with me being a 45-year-old
who still absolutely loves roller coasters, but what the heck!
For those who don't know, Cedar Point
(Official) is a top-thrills mecca
destination for roller coaster enthusiasts. The park has housed some of the
worldwide top-rated coasters as voted by various enthusiast groups, and has
garnered the Best Amusement Theme Park award by Amusement Today.
Since its inception in 1998, Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Award for
Best Amusement Theme Park has gone to Cedar Point 14 years consecutively,
up to 2011. This is no small award, as results are tallied from worldwide
contenders and voters.(2012 results are not yet in)
I'm lucky enough to live within less than a half-day's driving distance from the park,
so I went there on August 23 with my cousin, who also likes to storm the park.
While there, our focus is the roller coasters; everything else is either secondary
or inconsequential. During a period of downtime, I grabbed the camera from my
car, so that I could grab a few shots while we strolled around. All shots are through
a Tamron SP 28-80 Adaptall-2 mounted to a 50D, mostly taken at f/8 or f/11.
1. The now-iconic lift hill of Millennium Force, standing 310 feet tall.
2. The final overbanked turn of Millennium Force as the train comes blasting into the station.
3. Mantis
in the foreground, Iron Dragon in the middle, with Power Tower beyond.
4. Blue Streak
, Cedar Point's oldest coaster, built in 1964. Station, lift hill and first drop shown.
5. Lift hill, dip/turnaround, and first drop of Mantis.
6. Screaming down and over a water feature, Maverick
is a helluvalotta fun!
7. My favorite coaster is still the Raptor
. This depicts a train nearing the apex of the first loop.
8. The midway at dusk, looking from front to rear of the park.
Raptor is at left, Power Tower and Top Thrill Dragster
in the middle, with SkyRide at right.
