unexpect'd maverick

As I lamented two weeks ago, Cedar Point's newest roller coaster, Maverick, was not operating on opening day. Amazingly, they were able to replace several pieces of track and have it ready for today. The Landeses and I had already planned to go up to CP on Monday, and were pleasantly surprised when CP announced this past Thursday that the ride would open today. We figured we had already waited this long for Maverick and could suffer an extra two days.

Then Stu's friend called and said the crowds today had thinned out due to the rain, and that Maverick was awesome. Laurie suggested Stu and I go give it our inaugural ride. Being young*, spontaneous season passholders with nothing better to do at 3:30 on an overcast Satuday afternoon, we obliged.

*disregard Stu's gray hairs (qxxahhhhh)

We only waited an hour and 15 minutes for Maverick, which is assuredly less than we would have waited had it opened two weeks ago. The ride is great. The thrill just never stops. It doesn't break any records, but it is a genuinely fun ride. It gives people more reason to visit Frontiertown, and presents many unique elements to CP's coaster collection, such as the theming, second launch, and various turns and rolls.

I still haven't decided where it fits into the Raptor-Millennium Force continuum of my favorite coasters, but it certainly ranks up there and gives them a run for their money.

And yes, we still plan to go again on Monday, at which point I will have gotten my money's worth from said season pass.