Barry DID IT!

[scarlett873]

very cool!! hope it was everything he had hoped it would be!

we (Disney845 & myself) got to "meet" Barry at King's Island on Saturday! we knew that he was going to be there that day and so we made a mental note about it...we were standing in line to ride the "Son of Beast" coaster when Disney845 noticed him...we weren't positive it was him and after a few minutes of "are you gonna say anything? no...i'm not gonna say anything" she finally decided to ask if it was him and it was!! didn't really get to talk to him, but at least we now have a face with the name.

 

[Towncrier]

I talked to Barry last night around 9PM. James and I drove up to Cedar Point yesterday afternoon with the hopes of meeting up with Barry after his historic ride. But Barry's phone didn't work inside the park and we hadn't setup any place to meet. And if you think that the line for Top Thrill Dragster was long, you should have seen the line for season passes. James and I waited in line for over two hours before we found the "shorter" line for people who wanted to renew passes and use last year's picture. By the time we got into the park, it was already close to 5PM. Barry is usually an easy person to spot, but we could not find him. By the time Barry's phone was working we were halfway home.

BTW - By 5PM the line for Top Thrill Dragster was only 4 hours long.

I got a lot of pictures of the new ride along with a couple of video clips. I'll make sure that Barry gets them so that he can add them to his coaster video.

Congrats on your 100th roller coaster!!!

 

[BarryHom]

Thanks everyone! I'm back to Ft. Myers after a fun-filled past 2 days. Top Thrill Dragster was a pretty thrilling ride. It was my 100th coaster and if you combined together coasters #1-99, it wouldn't come close to the thrill on CP's new coaster. It was indeed better than something I cannot say on the CB, but I've had it...or, er, seen it in a movie...um, a soap opera...

I did meet Scarlett in the Son of Beast line, but I couldn't remember who I had met. Son of Beast was pretty rough. BTW, I thought the Best was overrated. Film at 11...

A trip report full of photos will be up soon.

I also wanted to thank all the DISers who made the ride possible. Your thank yous will be in the mail soon.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Very good, Barry, and neat you got to meet a few more DIS'ers. Sounds like that ride is a bit more than the Cat in the Hat you and I did.

 

[yepod]

Congratulations on #100!

 

[Cindy B]

Originally posted by Barry Hom
Thanks everyone! I'm back to Ft. Myers after a fun-filled past 2 days. Top Thrill Dragster was a pretty thrilling ride. It was my 100th coaster and if you combined together coasters #1-99, it wouldn't come close to the thrill on CP's new coaster. It was indeed better than something I cannot say on the CB, but I've had it...or, er, seen it in a movie...um, a soap opera...

I ]


You are too funny Barry! So was the ride short? Was it really exciting? How were the lines if you didn't do the donations?


What is the height limit?


Sorry for my questions, but we are excited as well...

 

[goofy4tink]

All I can say is "WOW"!!! Very cool Barry. I wonder if my nutty step-sister went too. She belongs to some roller coaster club and is always going off somewhere or another to ride some crazy roller coaster, just like you. I'm the reason they make chicken exits!!

 

[dizneenut]

Very cool, Barry!!

 

[BarryHom]

The line consisted of the 96 VIP charity auction winners and 500 winners of a Pepsi contest. So there were 596 people in line before the general public entered. I read trip reports on www.guidetothepoint.com that said that one of the first general public people rode it and waited 45 minutes. If the ride is running at full capacity, I would expect to see 2-3 hour waits maximum. Of course, the wait is much smaller during opening. If you want to get a jump on things, stay on site, even if you have to stay at the Breaker's Express. You get in 30 minutes early. Take advantage of it!

 

[BarryHom]

Oh, the height requirement was 52 inches.

Hey goofy4tink -- your stepsister sounds like me! I'm going somewhere to ride some crazy coaster contraption. Is she single?

 

[Kitty 34]

Hey Barry, would it be worth the extra bucks to stay at a CP hotel to ride that thing??

 

[Cindy B]

Thanks for the info Barry!


I'm sorry we won't see you soon...

 

[Towncrier]

If you have a season pass and purchase the "Joe Cool" option for an extra $15, you get the same early entry benefit as you would if you stayed at one of the Cedar Point hotels.

The Top Thrill Dragster was having some technical difficulties during the afternoon. DS James and I were in line for the Magnum and had a perfect view of the coaster. The entire 15 minutes that we were in line for the Magnum, not a single "Dragster" was launched. I turned to James and said "No wonder the line is 4 hours long." Hopefully they will have the bugs worked out by Memorial Day weekend.

As an alternative to early entry into the park, we are going to head straight for the "freeway" station at TTD and try to get a handstamp for a ride later in the day. Freeway is Cedar Point's equivalent to the Fast Pass at WDW.

Glad to hear that you got home safe and sound Barry. Hope to see you in June when we are a little closer to your neck of the woods.

 

[BarryHom]

Originally posted by Kitty 34
Hey Barry, would it be worth the extra bucks to stay at a CP hotel to ride that thing??

I think it is. You can get the Breakers Express for as little as $59 a night.

 

[Rexfan]

I have got to get up there soon. I am a coaster nut, and I was drooling over the article in USA Today about this new one. I'm glad to hear that it lived up to the hype.