Welcome to the first installment of "Notes From The Wild West...". Every week or so this column will update you with the latest happenings on Maverick, the latest scream machine at Cedar Point, along with other interesting going on throughout not only Frontier Town, but the rest of the park.

Park opens, Maverick doesn't

Despite Maverick being closed, that didn't stop an large crowd from visiting the park on opening day and Maverick was in plain view for all to see. Rather than show a collection of random photos from throughout the ride I figured I would focus this week's update on the second hill (the one after the launch), the swooping drop and the now infamous "heartline" roll. Infamous you ask? The heartline roll is the area of concern that is causing the ride trouble right now. While the park has said three pieces of track need replacing, it is not known if the heartline roll will be either redesigned or removed. I figured I better photograph it as much as possible just in case it disappears!

After seeing the heartline up-close I really hope it stays. It is incredibly close to the water and looks mighty fun. I even noticed a pipe running from the water up through a large box and up to the top of the "canyon". Take a glance at the photo on the left (click to enlarge it) and just to the right of the canyon in the background you should be able to see the gray pipe. I'm going to assume that is for the waterfall that was shown in the animation. Let's hope that is indeed the waterfall - it would be a great effect! Like I said earlier, the track appears so close to the water - photos don't do it justice!

The second hill and it's swooping drop looks incredible. It dives into a heavily banked turn which, like the heartline, is pretty darn close to the water. Yes, the there are trims on the hill but even if they are used heavily the drop still will be cool as the banking and angle of decent looks great.

I had a chance to talk to many people over the weekend while at the park and everyone has continued to say "early June" for Maverick. Word around the campfire, through the grapevine, whatever - it all is saying "early June." When I hear anything official I'll be sure to pass it along to you ASAP.

Frontier Inn's food moves down the midway

Frontier Inn, the pizza and pasta restaurant near Maverick has been transformed into a Chick-fil-A (a chain restaurant). For Frontier Inn fans like myself - don't fear, the food hasn't disappeared! The Chuck Wagon Inn now serves what seems to be a near identical menu to the former Frontier Inn (including pasta, salads, and those giant slices of pizza).

Park alive on opening day

This past weekend was opening day for park and it was incredibly crowded. How crowded? All the major rides saw lines well over an hour, and even rides such as Disaster Transport sported hour plus long lines. Perhaps people showed up expecting to ride Maverick, perhaps it was the weather (blue skies and mid-60 degrees) - whatever it was brought the crowds out. Speaking about people showing up expecting to ride Maverick... the park had signs up at all the entrances (and at the tollbooths) announcing the closure of Maverick.

Random opening day notes: Due to a band festival there were an huge number of high school bands there... high winds cause SkyRide to remain closed most of the day... High winds and colder temps also caused Top Thrill Dragster experience some issues. Only four people per train where loaded on the ride for the first several hours, naturally it caused a large line.

'Till Next Week...

Thanks for joining me in the first week's notes. I highly recommend visiting the park, during the week, in the next few weeks - the crowds are generally really light! - Andrew Hyde

 All text/images are copyrighted  2005?by Andrew Hyde
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