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8-89	Karl R. Josker

The Comet

The Comet was one of the best roller coasters ever, anywhere. It always placed in the top ten in the yearly rating of roller coasters by an enthusiast's magazine.

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rob		12-Jun-2008 02:58
i too was a big comet fan and the last year crystal beach was open we had bought passes for the day and when we got there it was raining so we figured we would use them later that year, which we never did, 2 years ago we made a special trip to the great escape just to ride the comet, and it was an awesome experience, just how i remembered it, we rode it 8 times that day, the 1st time it had started raining during the ride and by the time it was over it was pouring the train stopped just outside the covered tunnel and we got soaked, the train sat there for about a minute while the next train loaded, i will never forget it, go ride the comet it is well worth the drive, we go to cedar point every year and have for over 20 years but the comet still remains my favorite

Curtis Bard		01-Jul-2004 06:15
This story about the Comet starts a long time ago in a land far away, but not too far from where I was born and lived as a child (Turtle Creek, PA near the Pittsburgh, PA area), before moving to Buffalo, NY. I acquired a fear of roller coasters when my favorite Uncle, Uncle Doc (Walter P. Spill) took me on a roller coaster ride in an amusement park known as Kennywood Park. I was young and naive and just didn't expect the degree of excitement that I was subjected to. I was absolutely terrified by the time the ride ended. I was so racked with fear that to this day I still vividly recall the scene when we got off the coaster and walked toward the House of Mirrors. For many years I never told anyone. I held on to this fear of roller coasters, nursing it by begging off with some excuse not to go on every time we went to an amusement park. Finally one year when at Crystal Beach with visiting relatives (the Bards and the VanOrmers) from the Aliquippa area of Pennsylvania, I was "shamed" into going on the Comet so as not to look ridiculous in front of all the family members. Believe it or not, I think that was the happiest day of my young life! If you have never had a debilitating fear in your life, then you just don't know how terrible it can be. This experience helped me to understand phobias, childhood trauma, and "irrational" fears that I encountered in my study for a degree in Psychology at the State University of New York at Buffalo. If you have a phobia or debilitating fear I highly encourage you to summon all the courage you have at your disposal, and FACE IT! I can tell you from personal experience, you will be glad you did. If you can't do it yourself, PLEASE get professional help. You can even do so anonymously if you wish. Ultimately, there is no shame in wanting to be well and free of fear. If you have a fear or if you have a story about overcoming a phobia or fear, please contact me via e-mail as I would be very happy to hear it, and perhaps later I might even post them all on a Web site (anonymously) to help and encourage others to overcome their problems. Believe me when I tell you, there is no excitement, no alcohol or drug high, no earthly thrill, that can ever beat the exhilaration a human being feels when they overcome a fear.

jb		26-Mar-2004 16:04
Dear COMET fans, You will be happy to learn that you can still enjoy the fun and feel of our old friend. 'She" is alive and well at the Great Escape located on rt9 just south of Lake George NY. ( Exit 20 off Rt 87 ) The GE is part off the Six Flags network. (792-3500. By the way, I am a Comet Fan also, having grown up in Kenmore. I share the the wonder of the boat the sights and smells and rejoyce in having them. My amuusment park linage is deeper than even Chrysle Beach. My grandfather earned his living as a candy maker at Fort Erie Beech prior to the depression. You might find some remains if you look directly north along the Canadian shoreline from Peace Bridge.I still have momentoes from that park along with some pictures of family. My grandparents lived in Buffalo and took the Ferry ferry which docked at the foot of.....Ferry St. and went across the river docking in Canada about 1000 feet from the bridge. They would the walk to Fort Erie Beach. They also had a summer cottage just off the Dominion Highway.

Joy		26-Mar-2004 00:08
My earliest memories of Crystal Beach include being too small to ride on the Comet. My older sisters were taller than the mark that you needed to be (it was probably four feet tall, but I was not that big yet). They lorded that over me all summer! By the next summer, I was (finally) allowed to ride the Comet. When I was married, my husband and I honeymooned in the Adirondacks, and I told him all about the Comet, which is now (as one other poster noted) up in Lake George. We didn't get to ride it then (too late in the season) but someday we will.