Would you pay USD$30 (RM114) to scream like a makcik tua, have your internal organs jingled around as you ride a metal contraption on metal wheels going 92MPH along a series of metal railings and loops after you drop 80 degrees down from a 45 degree hill? My friends and I did! ROLLER COASTERS are in da house baby! Woohoo... talk about wanting to satisfy your curious fear. Ni yang paling ultimate way to do it. I had the honor of visiting Cedar Point last weekend for the 2nd time (first time in 1995 with my family) located in Sandusky, Ohio, and this place is right at the edge of Lake Erie, the lake that we also share with Michigan and some Canadian state. Needless to say tempat tu last weekend was so sejuk, tak disangka. Linda and I were so pandai, pakai shorts je... Noreen I salute you for traveling heavy...!

So what can I say, we had a splendid time, menjerit melalak berollercoastering macam tiada esok. Cedar Point is the haven for all roller coaster freaks; if you gile roller coaster and you don't have Cedar Point on your list of places to go, you are an imposter! Approach Cedar Point only if you have, not the money, but the courage and health. Why? Because Cedar Point roller coasters are really that intense! The park was filled with people screaming everywhere (almost Hellish), as if in torture. I tak sempat naik all the roller coasters at CP sebab the wait averages out to 1.5 hours per roller coaster, so let's take a look at some of my favorite rides.

The Raptor
Secara tak sengaja this seems to be everyone's first roller coaster since it's nearest to the entrance. And this is not some kiddy roller coaster either. What's freaky about it is that when you're on it, your feet is dangling macam tali in the air, sebab takde lantai bawah roller coaster tuh! When you first naik benda tu memang lah ada lantai (kalau tak macam mana nak naik seat dia betul tak), but then when you're all securedly strapped onto your seat, the lantai slowly sinks and voila... no floor. The rest is, as people will say, history. Ada case orang hilang kasut also because of the way this roller coaster set up (tu lah siapa suruh tak ikat tali kasut?) In fact, I even saw some mat salleh naik ride ni berkaki ayam (oookay). What I liked about this ride was that as you descend down your first hill, it doesn't seem so scary because there are many loops that help you kill those butterflies in your stomach. I always have trouble trying to anticipate the first drop of any roller coaster. Though the Raptor was a bit short (maybe a minute or so), it was nonetheless exciting and versatile.

• Raptor 1
• Raptor 2
• Raptor 3 (Fairy being goofy)
• Raptor 4
• Raptor 5

The Millenium Force
This was the main reason why we went to Cedar Point. Opened last year to commemorate the new Millenium, this roller coaster was built with the highest of safety level and is classed as the tallest, fastest RC in the world. Actually when I first saw the tracks I was still in the car on the highway trying to get to Cedar Point, and it scared me a bit. You could see that the first hill went up 45 degrees and then the drop after that is almost a 90 degree angle, scary weh! *Gulp* But this was the ride everyone was talking about, so I had to get on it. Even while I was waiting in line, and I stood where you could see the tracks, time roller coaster tu naik ke atas to go down that first hill, I was a bit nervous. It was interesting to see how the roller coaster was pulled up by elevator cables (the one of its kind to do so - usually you have chains cranked to pull you up), and then the cable would drop back to the base of the hill and release the RC with all those tiny people screaming.

After about 1.5 hours waiting in line we finally got in. Let me tell you, I was shaking a bit lah, Linda and Noreen kecoh nak dok depan-depan sikit, I partnered off with Abang Azhar but dia kecut bola and nak duduk tang tengah-tengah sikit, so I pun ikut lah. Frankly I didn't care where I sat, as long as jangan the very front part, because I didn't think my heart would make it from the anticipation nak jatuh down that almost 90-degree drop. As we chugged up the hill, Lake Erie was to my left and you could see the whole city of Sandusky (that's how high we were!), I tried to get my mind off the fact that I was nearly committing suicide, tried to enjoy the scenery, and a bird nearly flew into my face.

Time sampai kat paling atas tu, Gosh.. orang depan dah start menjerit kegirangan (or ketakutan) and it started to spread ... this was it... *Whooooshhh!* The 80 degree drop and we were off...! It wasn't so bad actually! It was hilariously fun! So fasttttttt... oh my God, susah nak bernafas ok...! But it was so fun!! Millenium Force took us through a series of loops and dark tunnels and more hills. I was actually sorry when it was over! Definitely one of the best roller coaster rides I ever got on, the best and the smoothest actually. When we got off, my knees were shaking, sebab sejuk gile from the ride (angin beating in your face and it was like 10 celcius kot). Muka Abang Azhar yang selalu hitam macho tu tiba-tiba putih melepak (hihihi). Mulut dia berkomat-kamit kot, tanda kesyukuran. :P Noreen and Linda pulak dok kikikih je kerja, suka sangat lah. :) I smiled, mata berair, and pun join gelak. Sebab syiokkks ok. Check out the picture that the cameras took when I was riding MF, bukan ke muka orang yang tengah horror/syok habis? Haha.

• Millenium Force Sign
• Millenium Force 1 (view from the Mantis lineup)
• Millenium Force 2 (another view from the Mantis lineup)
• Millenium Force 3 (view from the base)

The Mantis
This was another cool ride. Traditionally you sit on roller coaster; this one, you BERDIRI. You sit on this bicycle-like seat and then they strap your chest leaving your arms free. But yes, you berdiri as you try to conquer the Mantis. One of my favorites as well, Linda Noreen and I managed to duduk depan (kalau you nak duduk depan in any rides, usually there is a special line, but kena tunggu lama sikit lah). Mantis pun banyak gile loops, and I went a bit insane in the membrane sebab too much blood in my head. But coolness. Kisses for the Mantis. I didn't buy a picture for this ride, had already spent USD$8.50 x 2 (RM64) for Raptor and Millenium Force. Tapi muka dalam gambar tu pun 'cantik' hihihih.

• Mantis Warning
• Mantis 1
• Mantis 2
• Mantis 3
• Mantis 4
• Mantis 5

The Power Tower
It was getting dark, and I was contented with the roller coaster activities (we did also did Magnum, Gemini, Blue Streak, Mean Streak and some others - you can read about the rides here); my feet were killing me because we had stood in line for hours waiting to ride 1-2 minute rides. Crazy. I was about to call it a day, when Linda and Noreen had one last quest to complete: The Power Tower. I naik bulu roma when I first saw the tall rise and memang nekad tak nak naik. Come on lah, the Tower Power was like as tall as Maybank or Tabung Haji punya bangunan ok (it looked like that to me lah). On the Power Tower you had a choice of being shot upwards or downwards. Linda wanted to shoot down. Noreen pun ikut, but I tengok muka Noreen dah semacam. Rupanya dia pernah naik benda alah tuh last year, and she said it was the scariest ride ever. I mean, imagine this, they strap you down in these seats and then they raise you up 300 feet high. Your feet is exposed and hanging down, you can practically see miles and miles away from where you are. As the machine cranks away to bring you to the upmost top, it stops. For the next 10-15 seconds, you're just waiting to be dropped down and it feels like 10 hours, beads of sweat start forming on your forehead, your lips are dry and pale. The machine groans, and then suddenly just when you thought you were going to go insane, zuuupppp! They drop you down really fast at 50 mhp, no time for you to even realize what's going on, and your stomach and heart are left behind kat atas tuh...! (Noreen claims that her stomach was still there from last year). According to Linda, Noreen was crying kat atas tuh hehe. But entah Noreen nak jugak naik benda tuh. Even after dah turun pun mata still berair. The scariest ride. No joke. Even I chickened out.

• Power Tower 1
• Power Tower 2
• Power Tower 3
• Power Tower 4 (time orang turun - kaki terangkat semua)

Miscellaneous
Have you guys ever had Dippin' Dots? The best ice cream in the world! Cedar Point calls it ice cream of the future, and I really think they are. They look like styrofoam beads, but it's soooo sejuk, and once you pop a spoonful into your mouth, they melt away, leaving this incredible sensation afterwards. They had chocolate, banana split and raspberry flavors, and we loved them. But a bit pricey though for a little bowl of helping, USD$3.75 (RM14.25). I had two because I couldn't resist, sedap nak termampus.

I also had a caricature picture done of me, you know those artists yang lukis cartoon of you, tapi with exaggerated features of your face and what not. Mine looked.. well, nak kata macam muka I guess the eyes and lips everything look ok. But my face looked a bit panjang, padahal I muka bulat. Oh well. We did some shopping too, tapi for little souvenirs je lah, habis duit bayar makan and tiket. There is this funny item they sell at almost every amusement park I have ever went to in America, be it kat Cedar Point, DisneyWorld or Universal Studios: the "invisible dog." Look at Zarif trying to bring one home. Hehe.

Here are some other miscellaneous pictures.

• Noreen, Zarif & Linda with Snoopy balloon (Snoopy is Cedar Point's mascot)
• Zarif, Noreen & Fairy with Snoopy balloon
• A view of the tallest wooden roller coaster in the world, the Mean Streak (this was when Noreen claimed I menjerit macam makcik tua :P)
• While Noreen and Linda tackle Raptor for the 2nd time at 9pm, Zarif and I naik cable car and captured this view. Unfortunately for me, I thought the cable ride was scarier than riding Raptor again because it was soooo slow and felt like I was going to drop out of the cage.

I truly enjoyed my time in Cedar Point. Apart from roller coasters we also played those carnival games and lost quite a bit of money playing them. All just because nak menang bear lah, doll lah apa, baik beli with all that money you use to gamble for them. Abang Azhar and family won quite a bit, as you can see that huge dragon he won from playing shoot the cans off the balcony or something like that. It was so huge that we almost wanted to leave it behind: takde space dalam kereta. But we managed nonetheless.

• Noreen tengah packing nak balik.
• Kenapa Zarif, berat sangat ke Mr. Dragon?
• Posing dengan Mr. Dragon
• Stuffing Mr. Dragon into the car

Roller Coaster Tips
In conclusion I'd like to share some advice on how to truly enjoy your rollercoaster rides.

1. First of all, raise your arms in the air and let them stand up freely when your roller coaster starts going downhill. I know for me, when the roller coaster mula nak start turun on the first hill, I start rasa gayat habis, my heart skips a beat and it anticipates a painful sensation. The only way to remedy this is to relax your arms and have it up high above your head. When you do this, your body will tend to flow with the fall making it a almost pleasant-like feeling, like you're flying. Hugging your chest and or clenching your body will just hurt your chest and head. Relax, it's a fun ride.

2. Secondly, bear in mind that no one in the roller coaster business (especially in US) will ever have the guts to expose their visitors to something they think people cannot handle. That's why before you enter a ride, there are signs plastered everywhere reminding you that you need to be this tall or this healthy (can't be pregnant, etc) to ride, because some of the rides are physically intense and may be dangerous to your well being. So if you think you cannot handle it, don't be stupid and try to get on it lah. Instead jadi tukang jaga barang kawan-kawan you. Hehe.

3. Lastly, if you managed to ride the one roller coaster you never thought you were able to sanely ride, and you went through all of it in one piece, get yourself a picture from the ride (if the ride has the camera system) to prove to yourself and others that you indeed had conquered your RC fear. But of course you won't see me buying a picture shot from the Power Tower photo booth...

Roller coasters are loads of fun, they're a great way to test your courage and vocal threshold and is also an excellent way to spend time with friends. If you have the opportunity to visit a roller coaster theme park like Cedar Point in any other part of the world, go for it.

If anyone else out there has a roller coaster story they'd like to share, please do, I'd love to hear what wacky experiences you guys went through. :)