Oh my god. Seeing the Cedar Point skyline you cant find this coaster unless you really search for it. As you enter the park you hear everyone saying "We have to run to Maverick," "Mavericks the best ride here," etc. You run with the crowd through the whole park, all of its other coasters tempting you, but you follow the other guests to the hidden gem in Frontiertown: Maverick.
You already find a long line, sometimes stretching past the enterence. But you promise to stick the line out no matter the wait. As you walk into the shaded queue line you hear the screams of riders in the twisted horseshoe roll and the rumble in the tunnel. Along the line you pass a lake, and wheelbarrow wheels. Next you enter a full saloon of riders anticipating their ride. After a while you head up the stairs and can finally see the lift hill and the 95 degree first drop. After the ride attendant guides you to your row you can see Maverick in the background navigating its twisted course. The gates open and you strap yourself in for the ride of your life.
VROOM. You fly up the hill. You werent expecting this and you wonder how you can prepare yourself for the drop. Well the fact of the matter is, even if it was the slowest lift ever, you still couldnt prepare yourself! It slows ever so slightly, and you FLY down the impossibly steep drop. You slam against the restraints and before you know it, your twisted along its course. Pure happiness sets in as you think nothing but the track in front of you. You see a hill and think "Were gonna fly off it!" And you would if there wasnt any restraints. You pause a little at the top, then SLAM back down, giving screams from every rider. A turn later, and the twisted horseshoe roll. Coupled perfectly with speed and hangtime, you cant help but shout with delight. Next comes the best part: the tunnel. You slow down to catch your breath, thinking that cant be any more intense. You wont be thinking that when you blast off with lights in your face. This was the single best adrenaline rush I ever got, better then the drop on MF and the launch on TTD. Its just pure madness with the screams and the lights. You zoom out into the outside world (There was an outside world?) Trim brakes that dont really slow you down occur, and you turn over the lake with water bombs in your face. A smooth S-bend later, and youre approaching another insane element: The Stengel Dive. You get THROWN to the side! And theres not one but 2 of these! And the second one is even more intense! Another airtime hill follows and then, unfortanutely, the brakes. You cant help but smile.
You need to be clinically insane if you dont like this ride. It is just the perfect ride, with speed, inversions, airtime, theming, I could go on and on! Height does not make a good coaster. The overall ambience and the atmosphere it creates makes a good ride a great ride. And Mavrick delivers this in spades.
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