Ah, the Conneaut Lake Blue Streak. As this park struggles for survival, one of the big reasons why the fight wages on to keep it afloat is the classic wooden coaster that graces the landscape. And with good reason too, as Blue Streak is a pretty good coaster lying behind the swirls of financial problems and general uncertainty. This old fashioned ride deserves the chance to continue dishing out rides to not only its loyal followers, but to new generations of thrill seekers as well. This is the anchor that has paced Conneaut Lake for decades, and it is the most recognizable icon of this little park in Northwestern PA. It is a simplistic ride by design, but that same simplicity is part of what gives Blue Streak its charm and character. When it comes to "classic" wooden coasters, this one is a must. The historical value and significance of this ride alone is certainly worthy of some notice. And although it is by no means one of my staggering favorites, it certainly gets a great deal of respect from me.
To really understand the problems this place has had, one needs to look no further than the Blue Streak itself. Here we have the one real coaster of the park, and it is just screaming for some upkeep. I understand the reason why not, dont get me wrong, but its still sad to see the exterior of the ride slowly deteriorating. If there ever was a coaster in dire need of some fresh new paint, this is it. Thankfully though, theres a good ride in amongst the faded appearances. Whats interesting to me about Blue Streak is that it is almost like 2 rides totally separate from one another. The first half blew my socks off, and I think partly because of that the second half was just disappointing. Put em together and you still have a solid coaster, but it left me feeling like it couldve been a bit better. I loved the classic trains and the very "minimalist" restraint. Thats one of the nice traits that some of these older wooden coasters have. The crew members were great, and they were enthusiastic while working quickly, so that was nice to see. Then came the ride itself.
I sat in the back and the front, and I give the slight nod to the back, although both seats were great in that wildly wonderful first half. From the great first drop to the next couple hills, the ride is packed full of massive and ridiculous airtime! This is the kind of airtime that had me lowering my hands a couple times and grabbing on to the bar! I was loving it, but then came the turnaround which seemed to suck the life out of the coaster. It really slows down, and then whats left is a second half that, while still fun, is just lacking anything really memorable. There are plenty of bunny hills, but most offer zilch in the airtime department, which really made me scratch my head when I compared that to those stellar first 3 hills. So, overall you have a first half thats a solid to high 9, and a second half thats just slightly above average (around a 6 or so is what that half felt like to me). But despite its slight weaknesses, Blue Streak is no doubt classic and it certainly dishes out a fun ride. I know I had a really good time on all my rides. The drops are good, primarily thanks to those winner first three drops. The speed is great at first, but then it kind of fades after the turnaround. The airtime overall is good, and initially it is outstanding! The layout is good, but the pacing is slightly off due to the varying halves of the coaster. All in all though, Im certainly not going to complain that Blue Streak doesnt deliver. It does, and I hope the park can stabilize so that this coaster survives for a good while longer. It does its job nicely, so it would only be fair for somebody to step up and help out in return for the sake of this classic coaster. Final Rating – 7.5/10
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