Cedar Point- Ride On! Trip report- UPDATED 8/1! About This Page:

[masonsmousermom]

<font color="green"> Cedar Point…Ride On! Trip Report

First…the pre-trip report! We live pretty close to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. It only takes us about and hour and a half to get there. So why has it been 12 years since I have been there?[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/questionicon.gif[/img] Especially as I really enjoy parks and I don’t mind riding roller coasters.

For anyone reading that is unfamiliar with Cedar Point, check out their website at www.cedarpoint.com. Basically, there’s nothing else to do in northern Ohio so someone built an amusement park.[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img] And it has some of the coolest, record-breaking thrill rides in the world.[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]

About two months ago, the animal shelter that I work at was having a fundraiser. The Second Chance Dog Walk was a day that people gathered together with their pets and walked to save lives. Supporters collected sponsorship money from friends, family, neighbors, etc… and then walked a path around a large lake in the area. We had some prizes for the top sponsors. First place would be a brand new mini-bike. Second place was 4 tickets to Cedar Point (which is about a $160 value).

My 11 (soon to be 12) year old nephew, Jason, was drooling over the mini bike. He was determined to win the mini chopper![img]/ubb/images/graemlins/luck.gif[/img] And he tried soooooo hard! But alas![img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cry.gif[/img] Another boy raised a bit more than he did and won that bike. Jason did come in second place and therefore got the Cedar Point tickets. He was happy, but a bit disappointed at the same time.

It didn’t take long for the frown to turn around as we got him excited by surfing the web and looking at the coasters at Cedar Point. Jason had been to Cedar Point the year before, but did not have the greatest of time as both his mom and mom’s boyfriend ended up getting sick and spending half the day in the car.[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/dizzy.gif[/img]

To our surprise, Jason asked us (DH, DS(4yrs) and me) to go with him and his mom. We’re like…HECK YEAH![img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thanx.gif[/img] We’ve wanted to try Cedar Point, but was concerned that we’d waste our money because we had such a young one. So, now we could go and only had to pay $10 for our DS Mason to get in (plus food and souvenirs).

Up next… It sure isn’t Disney! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/noway.gif[/img]</font>

[masonsmousermom]

<font color="green"> It sure isn't Disney!


I really really really wanted to plan out our day at Cedar Point. But my DH, my sister and my nephew all thought that I was crazy and kept rolling their eyes every time that I brought up the idea.[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] Soooo… we were going to Cedar Point on only about a 5-day notice and all I could do was arm myself with as much info that I could remember from surfing the official and unofficial websites.

So the morning came…bright and early we were up at 6:30 a.m. , out the door and on our way to my sister’s house, which was about a half-hour away. We transferred into her vehicle and so began our 90 minutes ride to the “amusement coast” of Lake Erie.

We decided to stop and eat a large breakfast so that we wouldn’t have to pay the ridiculous prices at the park. We all agreed on Denny’s and stopped in for a nice early morning meal. I was armed with my camera,[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/Flash.gif[/img] determined to get enough pictures of everything to make this a Cedar Point trip report- Passporter style.[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] But I was cut off right away with several grumpy relatives all looking at me like I was a nut that I asked to photograph their plates of breakfast food! They just didn’t understand![img]/ubb/images/graemlins/noway.gif[/img]

So, I managed to get one picture… my DS’s alien breakfast platter:

That’s the picture AFTER he smashed it with his hand. Aparantly he didn’t appreciate my camera in his food either! And here’s one of him after I snapped the picture:

We got back on the road and soon we arrived in Sandusky. It was kind of exciting to be in the area, because a lot of the new “indoors water park resorts” have become really popular in that area. There was Castaway Bay Resort that was right at the entrance to Cedar Point, and right along Lake Erie. It was kind of had a Beach Club feel to it. And there was Kalahari Resort (AKL), Great Wolf Lodge(WL), and others. The exterior theming of these resorts reminded me of Disney and definitely got me “in the spirit”!

In order to get to Cedar Point, you have to travel over the causeway that crosses part of Lake Erie. While we were driving toward Cedar Point, I snapped this picture:

Seeing the HUGE rides were getting all of us excited and ready to RIDE ON! (Which is Cedar Point’s saying… you’ll hear it on all of the rides as you load and unload) We arrived in the parking lot and our mouths simultaneously dropped when we saw that it was going to cost us $9.00 to park! OUCH!

After we recovered from shock, we all piled out of the car and headed for the entrance. I think that Cedar Point could do a better job at making the entrance a little more enticing:

We went through the ticket counter to get our DS a junior ticket. I snapped a picture of the price board for an FYI in case anyone is interested in traveling to the Point:

We walked through the entranceway and for some reason I started to remember walking through MK’s entrance for the first time and seeing Main Street. I think that Cedar Point tried something similar but it just wasn’t the same. My eyes were immediately drawn to the chipped paint, cracked cement and worn out benches and rest areas. “It sure isn’t Disney”, DH and I whispered to each other. We didn’t want my sister and nephew to hear us because we didn’t want to seem ungrateful for the free tickets. This, however, would be the theme throughout the day. It sure wasn’t Disney!

Up next…NO POOH SIZES ALLOWED and HOW LONG IS THE WAIT??? </font>

[masonsmousermom]

<font color="green">NO POOH SIZES ALLOWED and HOW LONG IS THE WAIT???

The only thing that I was allowed to plan for this trip was what we should do first. I advised that we should all agree what is the single most important ride we want to ride and do it first before the crowds were too overwhelming. We were hoping that traveling to Cedar Point through the week would help with the crowd level. The weather also was touch and go that day, so we had a love/hate relationship with the skies that day. Feel free to keep the crowds away with threatening skies, but don’t rain on our parade!

We all agreed that Top Thrill Dragster was definitely the ride to get onto first! Check this link out to see all the details and a photo gallery of TTD: http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/par...ster/index.cfm

But we were immediately let down. TTD was not running due to inclement weather. Bummer! So, we quickly changed paths and headed for Millennium Force. WOW! That’s all I could say. The last time I was at Cedar Point, the biggest and baddest ride was the Magnum XL2000 (which I’ll show you all later)! This new and improved roller coaster’s first lift is a whopping 310 feet in the air! You descend at an 80 degree angle and reach speeds of 90+ miles per hour. I was psyched when I saw it. I HAD to do it. Here's a picture of one of the smaller hills from a distance:

But…there was one little problem. Well, not so little, as it turns out. The ride does not accommodate people of “exceptional size” (i.e. pooh size) In fact, for anyone thinking about traveling to CP that is larger than a 40” waist (men) or size 18 (women), there are many coasters that you will not be able to experience.

I found this to be the most disappointing aspect of our trip that day. Again, my DH and I were mumbling…”It sure isn’t Disney!” If you want more information about CP’s “exceptional size” rules, here’s a link… http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/visit/tips.cfm#size

As I was a size 20, this was a real disheartening feeling. They have “sample seats” at the entrance to the rides that you can sit in and see if you can strap yourself in. I was inches from being able to do this, which just made me even angrier!

But, then I saw the posted wait time for Millennium Force… 1 ½ hour wait! For a two minute ride. NOPE! Not for me anyways… so that relieved some of my frustration. My nephew, however, was determined. We left him go on his own, as my Dsis, DH, and me were all over the weight limit.

In the meantime, we took a trip on the Cedar Point and Lake Erie Railroad.
The view of the park was similar to that of the Walt Disney Railroad…not much. We did get to see a new construction area where they are building the next top-secret thrill ride. I forgot to get pictures of it though.

After the choo-choo train ride (which my DS LOVED) we walked around a bit and realized that Cedar Point has done an o.k. job with the landscaping of some areas of the park. We head back to MF and I snap some pictures of the ride vehicles going by: My nephew exits the ride and exclaims that it was awesome!


Up next…Getting Drenched and Riding a REALLY BIG swing! </font>

[mattnkatsmum]

What a fun trip report. My son is reading your reprt with interest too as he has heard all about Cedar Falls from the Extreme Coasters show.

Sorry you're having problems getting on some of the rides. Hopefully things will improve as the day goes on!

I'm glad you're finding things for the little one to do too.

More please!

[Colexis Mom]

Great start [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] Sorry you couldn't ride a bunch of the coasters [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

More please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[GoofyMom]

Great report so far!! I was [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img] when I saw the smooshed alien breakfast and your DS's pose for the paparazzi! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img] It's a shame that you couldn't ride a few of your top choice rides. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[lauren-roxy]

Great start!! We used to go to Cedar Point all the time when I was a kid. Sorry you are having some problems with the rides.Can't wait to read more!! LOve your pictures too!!!

[Disney Franatic]

Great trip report! We went to Cedar Point a couple of years ago after having not been there since the '60s. It's so hard to go to another park after being at WDW. You tend to compare everything and NOTHING compares. We've also been to Six Flags-Geauga Lake and King's Island in the last couple of years. They're just not Disney.

[DrDolphin]

Sorry you are having such a disappointing time. Your DS doesn't look like he appreciated your camera at breakfast.

[masonsmousermom]

<font color="green"> Getting drenched and riding a REALLY BIG swing!
After listening to our nephew talk about the first drop and the smooth and fast ride of the Millennium Force roller coaster, we were on a mission to get a stroller. There were two places in the park to rent strollers, and we were smack dab in the middle between both of them. Our DS Mason was hot and tired already and we knew that a stroller would save the day for all of us.

So we started trekking toward Camp Snoopy, the kiddie area in the park where the strollers were located. As we exited Frontier Trail into Frontiertown (similar theming as Frontierland at WDW but obviously not as well done), we came upon our next dilemma: Thunder Canyon and Snake River Falls-the equivalents of Kali River Rapids and Splash Mountain without the animatronic prequel.

The guys (DH and Dnephew) both wanted to ride and started for the entrance. The sign said ¼ hour wait, so it was tempting. But Dsis and I said no emphatically with a tone of “we told you so”. Although we were drenched with sweat and the water rushing by from the vantage point at Thunder Canyon looked very very good, we knew better. We had only been in the park for about 1 ½ hours and had a long, HUMID day ahead. With a 70% humidity level outside, we just knew that those boys were going to stay in their wet clothes for the next 10 hours.

The guys were able to walk onto Thunder Canyon and we watched them get drenched in the waterfalls:

Here are the boys after getting drenched! And that’s the way they stayed for most of the day!

My nephew went ahead and rode Snake River Falls, and said it was boring. He did like the bridge that you can stand on as you exit the ride that just so happens to be the prime splash zone from the descending rafts going down the falls. He said that was pretty cool. He also said that the splash was strong enough to knock him back a bit.

We were still on a mission to get that stroller, and so we continued on. As we rounded the corner we saw the newest thrill ride at CP this year. The Skyhawk!

It’s like a REALLY BIG swing that holds 20 people on each one and takes you back and forth. Imagine riding a swing taller than a 12-story building! The pinnacle of the ride swings riders 125 feet into the air and reaches speeds of over 60 MPH. What a rush! Again, this ride was calling me. Fortunately, I could fit the seat and my nephew and I got in the ¼ hour wait line. My sister, DH and DS waited this one out and instead got some funny pictures of us on the ride. I’m in the white t-shirt and my nephew is in the red t-shirt. I’m the one that is giggling and screaming like mad! It’s a great ride, and I think it is overlooked because it is not a roller coaster.

After we exited the ride and nephew Jason had his moment to make fun of me screaming like a little child, we were all feeling a bit hungry. We didn’t want to eat a big lunch yet, so we settled for some popcorn, nachos, water, and tropical freeze slushes. Again, the prices for these items were just outrageous. My paranoid family again refused to let me snap pics of them chowing down on the nachos, but I got a snapshot of DS nibbling on some pretty cold, stale popcorn for $3.15! Of course the popcorn was making DS thirsty, so we purchased a 12 ounce cup of blue slush for $3.00, an Aquafina and some nachos for DH and I for $3.00. I will say that the nachos were pretty yummy and they certainly didn’t skimp on the cheese!

With our bellies full, we were off again. We marched forward, wondering if we would ever get to Kiddie Land and our DS could ride some rides and get a stroller!

Up Next… The Gemini, Jr. Gemini and FINALLY found a stroller! </font>

[Colexis Mom]

Great update [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img]

[BelmontBelle]

I was excited to see your trip report, we are heading to Cedar Point near the end of August. I haven't been there since the mid 80's when the Gemini was the biggest coaster! It will probably be the biggest coaster I ride this time too as I'm not a fan of the huge ones. Sorry about the ride restrictions, that really stinks, I hope you find more fun stuff to do. Looking forward to the rest of your report.

[RobDVC]

Great update! Cedar Point is on our list of places to visit. I'm a big coaster junkie, and I can't wait to go there when the boys are tall enough to ride them all with me.

[masonsmousermom]

<font color="green"> The Gemini, Jr. Gemini and FINALLY found a stroller!
After our early afternoon snacking was done, we continued on. We passed the Mean Streak, which is an awesome wooden roller coaster that’s won a ton of awards and is still one of the tallest and fastest wooden coasters in the world! We all would have tried it, but alas! Another “exceptional size” clause on this ride kept us off.

We soon found something that all of us could ride (exept the little one, of course)…the Gemini! Although it is not the oldest roller coaster in the park (that award is given to the Blue Streak), it has been around since 1978 and is one of my DH’s favorite roller coasters. It is unique because it is one of the few dueling coasters out there. In other words, there are two passenger cars traveling side by side and they race each other along the track.

Because one person had to tend to DS Mason, I sat out the first ride on the Gemini, while my Dsis, Dnephew and DH all hopped on the ¼ hour wait time line for the Gemini. In the meantime, I set forth to find that stroller! Instead I found the Jr. Gemini kid’s area. Yes! We finally arrived in an area that DS Mason could enjoy. And boy did he need it! He was getting pretty bored and cranky at just watching the big kids play.

We got in line for the Jr. Gemini and wouldn’t you know it- the adults were through the line and on the Gemini riding before we got even ½ way through the Jr. Gemini line. I snapped a picture of the adult Gemini ride vehicle going by:

By the time we were up to the loading area, my family was back and waiting with their camera to snap pics of Mason on the Jr. Gemini:

After DS finished having his mini moment on the roller coaster, we found the shop that rented the strollers. Again, the expense is higher than Disney: $15 to rent a stroller. They were the hard plastic type just like Disney has, and $5 is refundable. We still thought is was well worth it, although we were more than ½ way through the park by now.

We paid for the stroller, and DH, Dnephew and I all headed back to the Gemini. My Dsis kept DS Mason busy riding some kiddie rides:

I had forgotten how cool the Gemini was. There are parts of this ride that you can actually hold your hand out and touch hands with the racing coaster beside you. There’s lots of airtime on this ride as well, and I kept my hands in the air to experience it the most! There’s also a part of the ride where you swoop down and it looks like you’re going to get your head chopped off by the wooden reinforcements! Great ride!

After riding the Gemini, DS and I hopped on a traditional midway ride:

We all decided to split up then. DH &amp; Aunt Kimmie would take Mason on some more little rides, and Dnephew Jason and I would head forward…something else was calling us!

Up next: Magnum XL 2000 and Lunch!</font>

[jimmymac]

Great reports. You make the park seem like an awful lot of fun [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]