Relatively short ValRavn Premiere Weekend Trip Report

Been quite a while since I wrote a trip report, but I figured it was worthwhile. I'm confused by the number of complaints I'm seeing about this weekend. I've been to the park on opening weekend the last 7 or 8 years, and this was by far the best one I've been to. I'll start from the beginning.

I arrived in Sandusky from the Chicago suburbs on Thursday afternoon, about 45 minutes before the Lebron James Foundation event. We got to the park, and we were in the last grouping for ValRavn rides. So it took a little time to get our first ride, but by 8:30, we had one ride in, had a lot of very good food in our stomachs, and then the line dissipated. We ended up getting 7 rides that evening, including one with Tony. It was a really good time. Oh, and the ride is really fun too ;)

The next day we went to Put in Bay during the day. It was a relaxing boat ride, we got some lunch and drinks, and then came back across the pond for Passholder Preview. I think Friday was the most crowded day of the weekend, but since we got our ValRavn rides the night before, we just started in the back of the park. Considering how many cars were in the lot, the ride wait times really weren't bad, other than ValRavn. And nearly all of the coasters were up and running, which was quite impressive, given some other years. The food stands were a little under-staffed, presumably due to a lot of the staff still being in school, but that's certainly understandable.

On Saturday, we were fully expecting a circus at the park. It was a beautiful day, and after Friday, we expected an even much larger crowd. But it never came! Crowds on Saturday were surprisingly light, and by the afternoon we'd ridden basically all of the roller coasters. Again, by lunchtime the food was a struggle, but we took our time and enjoyed Chickie's & Pete's, where we tried the ValRavn IPA. For those of you of drinking age, the IPA is actually pretty good. Big improvement from Rougabrew, in my opinion. And the Chickie's & Pete's meal plan is a really good deal. In the late afternoon we wanted to get off our feet, so we went and saw a movie. But we were back in the park in the evening, and by then it had gotten pretty cold and windy, so a lot of rides were down, but people were clearing out by 8:30. So there were again basically no lines in the park at all, for the rides that were running. Even Dragster got going for a short time, but we ended the night on another ValRavn ride after a reasonable 30 minute wait.

By Sunday, we'd already had a really solid weekend, but it was even better after the few hours I spent in the park that day. The park was again not crowded at all. I left the park at 2:00 yesterday, and by that time I'd ridden Maverick twice, Millennium, Rougarou, Power Tower, Dragster, Blue Streak, Windseeker, Gatekeeper, Gemini, and Magnum. Oh, and we also won a tweet-up and got a coin.

I was truly amazed at how good the ride operations were going this weekend. They were in mid-season form. Some rides had some downtime, but I didn't really see any extended downtime. It was nothing you wouldn't see in June. The food service was far from great, but again, that will get better once the full staff arrives. All things considered, it was a great weekend with beautiful weather, light crowds, and great rides with some great friends. Thanks to everyone who made it fun, and congrats to the park on a really successful debut of the Tallest/Fastest/Longest Dive Coaster in the World. :)

-Dvo

Awesome report. Thanks for sharing!

Where did you stay overnight at? Do anything fun in Put in Bay?

I stayed in a cabin at Bayshore KOA. They're decent for the price, and serve their purpose. We just relaxed at Put in Bay. It was still Friday afternoon at that point, so most of the boozy clientele hadn't arrived yet. So we enjoyed a nice lunch, and then a few drinks at some outdoor bars. It's a recommended trip if you're willing to take the time away from the park.