Retrospect…

I got a chance to go to Cedar Point last Wednesday (July, 24th 2013) and the drive to the Point was exciting as ever, I felt as if I was 21 again. I was wondering how I would feel seeing Gatekeeper in this famous corner. Gone was Disaster Transport and the Cedar Point Needle changing the skyline forever. Would I be sick to my stomach thinking how old I had become since the 1st time I rode the Jumbo Jet in 1974? I thought about standing in line to ride the brand new Avalanche Run and waiting for hours for that ride. As I turned left onto the causeway the excitement really started to build. I caught glimpse of the Gatekeeper and then the entire ride with the 2 majestic keyholes. I could not wait to park the car and get in line. Cedar Point did a really nice job with the new entrance to the park. I felt as if I wanted to run, perhaps to beat the others that arrived at the same time, so I could get inline ahead of them. Did I just transform back into that geeky kid from 1974? Our line wait started next to Max Air and continued toward Gatekeeper, then a sharp left toward Wicked Twister and then a sharp turn to the right back towards Gatekeeper. Finally I reached cue lines next to the Gatekeeper. At one point I got this eerie feeling as if I was standing dead center where Jumbo Jet once stood. It took forever to reach the platform, but once we did I knew I must ride the front seat. It took about 1 hour and 10 minutes and finally I was strapping myself in for my 1st ride on Gatekeeper. I must have felt the same way back in 1974 taking my seat on the Jumbo Jet. As we started up the lift hill I thought hang on tight, before I knew it we were heading towards the keyholes. I knew we would make it through the keyholes as riders before me had, none the less the ride was exciting. It was almost over before it started and we arrived back to the platform and I thought Cedar Point had done a good job with Gatekeeper. As I walked away I thought of all of those coasters that came before the Gatekeeper. I saw Jumbo Jet, Wildcat, Avalanche Run and finally Disaster Transport as they stood in this corner made famous, at least in my mind, by the Jumbo Jet. Could todays memory of Gatekeeper be that of some other geeky 14 year old kid who looks back at 50 thinking this is the ride that made them love roller coasters, like the Jumbo Jet did for me?

GateKeeper in Jumbo Jet’s spot!

My oh my, how the landscape at Cedar Point has changed since Jumbo Jet left at the end of season in 1978. Now the Space Needle and Disaster Transport are gone and GateKeeper is rising for opening day 2013. I headed over to Cedar Point’s site to see how construction is going. Here is GateKeeper in Jumbo Jet’s spot:

You can see the construction yourself, just head over to Cedar Point and click the link to webcams.

GateKeeper in Jumbo Jet’s Spot

So Cedar Point has announced that the new ride for 2013 is GateKeeper, which will take the place of Disaster Transport which took the place of WildCat. To me this conner of CP will always be hallowed ground and the ground that Jumbo Jet made famous…. Let’s take a virtual ride on GateKeeper: