Cedar Point Amusement Park

It’s 10 am sharp, and we’re waiting in line for the gates to open!

This week was our 2nd (annual??) trip to Cedar Point, in Sandusky, OH.  We were a little bummed to find out that the park switched over to its “fall hours” on the day we arrived, which meant we lost 2 hours of ride time, but at least we were staying onsite which allowed us “early entry” of an extra hour in the morning.

The kids were up, dressed, and had eaten breakfast bright and early Monday morning . . . they were anxious to get going into the park!  There were (5) roller coasters open for the extra hour in the morning, and the kids’ game plan was to head immediately to Top Thrill Dragster.

The plan worked – they were on so quickly that I missed getting a picture of them!!

Next on their radar was Millennium Force, after a quick ride on Iron Dragon.

Iron Dragon is a fairly mild roller coaster, so even Jensen and I went on that one!

Tari and I let the guys take the kids on Millennium, while we waited with Jensen.  This one is just too tall and steep for me . . . No, Thanks!!

Next up was Maverick . . .

This is a fun one, even if it bangs your head around a little bit.  The first hill isn’t too big, and you are launched up rather than that slow, agonizing “click, click, click” up to the first drop.  Tom and I rode this one together – screaming all the way!

From there, we made our way over to Mean Streak.

I think this one may still be the biggest wooden roller coaster in the world, but I’m not sure.  I just know that I’ve heard that it’s rough . . . so I passed on this one.

The feelings from our group were mixed on this one – the kids thought it was OK, but Tom & Paul said “Once is enough – too rough”.

After a nostalgic ride on the fastest, steepest, tallest roller coaster (in 1978!) – Gemini – we decided it was time to tackle the water rides!  One detour first – Hannah and her friend, Alexis, decided they wanted to try Sky Hawk.  They couldn’t get anybody else to join them, so the girls braved it on their own.

There they are – all the way to the left – arms in the air!

Now, it was time for the water rides.  Snake River Falls wasn’t busy at all, and we walked right on and boarded a boat.  When they say, “You will get soaked on this ride!”, they mean it . . . we all came off of it soaking wet!

Once wasn’t enough for Bryce, Hannah and Alexis – they went back for another ride!

Next was Thunder Canyon, where 12 people get in a circular raft and ride along a river, bouncing off walls, never knowing who’s side of the raft is going to end up under the waterfalls!

Nick, Tari and I watched from the overlook as the rest of the group went back for another ride

Now it was time to go back to the campground to get into dry clothes and have some lunch.  Tari and I were ready, but Tom, Paul and the kids decided they were up for one more trip down Snake River Falls.

After some lunch and a little rest, we were back in dry clothes and ready to tackle some more coasters.  First on the post-lunch agenda was Magnum – another tall one, with some quick up & downs at the end.  I sat this one out, too.

Note the empty queuing area in the background --  we were amazed at the short lines we experienced all day.  Many of the less popular coasters had no line at all, and even on the big ones, we only waited 15 – 30 minutes at the most!  It made it really easy for the kids to get on all the rides they wanted to ride!

Hannah really likes the front seat on the coasters, and she was often able to get there with hardly any wait!

The next roller Coast that I went on was Raptor.  This one is pretty radical – your feet are dangling, and although there is no big drop, there are lots of loops and spirals.  I sat it out last year, but everybody said how smooth and fun it was, so I decided to try it this year.

Those are people’s FEET pointing toward the sky as they go around that loop!

It was a fun ride, and definitely exhilarating – and I even managed to open my eyes for part of it!

Bryce and Nick wanted to go on Blue Streak – this is an old wooden coaster – they probably keep it around more for historical significance than anything else.

They couldn’t get anybody else to join them, so they just went on their own.

Wicked Twister (or Twisted Sister, as we called it!) was one ride that Bryce skipped last year, so this time he was going to give it a try.

Riders are launched – forward and reverse – higher and higher up these two spiral columns . . . crazy, if you ask me!

It wasn’t all about roller coasters, though, and we rode a few other rides, too.  Nicolas’ favorite was the “Turnpike Cars” . . . even if his knees were above the windshield!

Bryce and Jensen were about the right size for these cars, though . . .

We all took a ride on the Cedar Downs carousel.

At a top speed of 14 mph, it couldn’t compete with the coasters, but was pretty darn quick for a carousel!

Paul and Tari are ready to race!

The kids put their iron stomachs to the test on the Matterhorn, and they survived!

The new ride at Cedar Point this year is Windseeker.

It’s a very tall swing, where riders get listed to the top and then rotate around the center column at 9mph. 

It looks like it would be a very relaxing ride, and the view must be spectacular, but it would need to be about half as tall for me to ride it!

Jensen was determined to ride it, though, so Paul, Hannah and Alexis joined him.

After they were safely on the ground again, they admitted that the view was great but 9mph is faster than it sounds!

By then, the evening was winding down, and we were definitely winding down.  The kids decided on one last ride on Millennium, so Tari went with them while Tom and I killed some time riding the train around the park.  It was a quiet, relaxing ride, and I got a couple of nice sunset pictures.

We got back to Millennium just as they were getting off the ride – perfect timing – and they had just enough time (10 minutes) to squeeze in one more ride on Mantis, the last roller coaster of the day!

After that, it was back to the campground and into the hot tub to soak our aching legs . . . a great way to end a fun & busy day!

Campground Review -- Cedar Point Camper Village

Dates we stayed here:  August 18 - 21, 2010 (Wednesday - Saturday)

Location:  Sandusky, OH (on-site at Cedar Point Amusement Park)

Our site:  #160 in Circle B

Since we were only staying for three nights, I chose an electric-only (30 amp) site in order to save a little money.  The 30-amp sites are arranged in three concentric circles around a bathhouse.  The bathhouse is also the location for filling your fresh water tank.  The innermost circle consists of smaller back-in sites, the middle circle contains pull-thru sites, and the outermost circle is made up of larger back-in sites.  Each site has a gravel or asphalt pad with patio area, a large picnic table, and a picnic grill (for charcoal cooking -- no campfires).

This outer circle of sites were plenty long for our camper, even for opening the dovetail door.  Maneuvering onto the site was a challenge, though, with the curved narrow road, closeness of the campsites, and the use of short wooden posts to mark the sites.  We had to stop Tom several times to keep him from hitting one of those!

The rules state that, according to Ohio law, there has to be 15 ft. of clearance between adjacent camping units -- including slides and awnings, and that it's each camper's responsibility to maintain that clearance.  However, the sites barely have 15 ft. between them, so it's virtually impossible to maintain that spacing.  Luckily, nobody ever enforced that rule!

Circle B is the original campground, and it's age shows in the bathhouse.  It's pretty old and not in the greatest shape.  On the upside though, there are some really nice shade trees on the sites.  Back-in sites are $66.00 per night, and pull-thru sites are $71.00 per night.

Across the road, the newer area of the campground (Lighthouse Point) consists of larger, full hookup sites on wide roads, with paved pads and patios, and landscaping between the sites for privacy.  They have the same picnic tables and grills.  Back-in sites are $76.00 per night, and pull-thru sites are $81.00 per night.

The bathhouses in this area are much newer -- large, clean and air conditioned!  There is also a laundry facility in this bathhouse.  Lighthouse Point includes cabins and cottages, in addition to the campsites, and has sidewalks throughout the facility.

Amenities:  There is a large swimming pool, hot tub and sprinkler area in the center of Lighthouse Point, which is open to all campers, as well as the cottage and cabin occupants.

Near the pool, there is another bathhouse, with (4) separate facilities, each with a toilet, sink and combination shower/bathtub, and a gameroom that is open 24 hours.  Campers are also welcome at either of the (2) hotel pools and the beach at the Breakers Hotel.

All resort guests can purchase single-day amusement park tickets at a discounted rate of $29 each (gate price: $46.99), and are allowed into the park one hour early, during which select roller coasters are operating.  The "Resort Entrance" to the park is conveniently within walking distance of the campground, although there is a shuttle bus if you don't want to walk.

When you arrive at the Park, you enter through the main gate and will be charged for parking ($15 for RVs), but that is reimbursed when you check in at the campground, and you receive a parking pass for the remainder of your stay that allows you to come and go as often as you want.

Our overall opinion:  Camping here is expensive, but if you're going to the park, the convenient location cannot be beat.  We'll stay here again, but I'll probably pay the extra money to be in the newer, full-hookup campsites.  We probably wouldn't be staying long enough to really need FHU, but the larger sites and wider roads are worth the extra cost.

they're tall, and they're fast, and they're incredibly exciting!

Roller Coasters, that is!  Last week, we took our boys for their first-ever visit to Cedar Point . . . the roller coaster capital of the world, and an extremely popular destination around here!

As kids, Tom and I each remember long, early morning car rides to Cedar Point, and the sleepy ride home late at night.  But Cedar Point now has a very large campground, so we decided it would be much nicer to camp on-site.  Our frequent camping buddies, Paul & Tari, and their kids, Hannah & Jensen, were camping, too.  Tom's brother, sister-in-law, and our niece were staying at a nearby hotel.

It's only about 125 miles to Cedar Point from Ann Arbor, so we set out after Tom got home from work last Wednesday.  Along the way, we crossed the huge new bridge over the Maumee River in Toledo,

passed by the Davis-Besse nuclear plant,

and saw some interesting businesses!

Finally, we arrived

and crossing over the Cedar Point Causeway, we caught our first glimpse of the giant roller coasters that the boys could not wait to get on!

Cedar Point is on a peninsula between Lake Erie and the Sandusky Bay, and the campground is at the very tip of it.  So . . . after maneuvering the RV through the very narrow entrance lanes and making a couple of crazy 90 degree turns, we wound our way around the outside edge of the park.  This gave us a great close-up view of some of the coasters that were going to challenge us.  There was Raptor,

which takes riders through loops and twists while your feet dangle in the open air!  I opted out of this one, but everyone tells me it was one of their favorites, so I'll have to try it next time we go back!

Then there was Maverick (new in '07),

which is known for it's quick launch up the first steep incline and a 90+ degree drop, followed by loops and twists, and I'm not sure what else!  I rode this one, and it was wild!

Then there was Millenium Force,

known for it's towering first hill and high speed (98 mph)!  I did not try that one, but Tom and the boys LOVED it!

Arriving at the campground, we were parked in the shadow of Mean Streak,

a particularly brutal wooden coaster, from what we're told . . . none of us got around to riding that one, although the kids would have, I'm sure!

After a short mishap involving a wrong turn, we finally arrived at our campsite and got set up.

We had a quick bite to eat, and then went for a walk around the campground to check things out. 

We had decided to wait until Friday to go to the park (pure torture for the kids!!) when Tom's brother and family would be there, so on Thursday we went for a drive into Norwalk, OH, where I had a gift certificate to a quilt shop (had to spend it - it was going to expire at the end of the month!), and Tom did a little motorcycle window-shopping.

Back at the campground, we spent the afternoon at the pool,

and visited the "Challenge Park" for go-carts

and mini-golf in the evening.

 

We made plans to meet outside our camper at 8:45am sharp, the next morning.  The park didn't officially open until 10am, but since we were staying on-site we were allowed to enter one hour early and there were selected roller coasters that would be running.  I didn't even have to wake my kids up in the morning!! LOL --  You would have thought it was Christmas!!  They were up and ready to go!!  We had a great time -- in addition to all of the roller coasters, we also rode the swings,

and the monster,

along with several other rides, and watched an extreme sports (bikes, rollerblades) demonstration that was really cool!  We also rode a few water rides . . . you know how they have signs that say "You will get soaked on this ride!", but then you barely get wet . . . well, on these rides -- you REALLY do get SOAKED!!

Lucky for us, we were just a short walk from our campers, so we went home for lunch, dry clothes, and a short rest -- then we were back at it!  The kids saved "the best for last" -- the Top Thrill Dragster,

and around 8:20pm got in line to have themselves blasted forward at 120 mph, up a vertical incline, and back down -- all in 17 seconds!  They had a little bit of a wait (our only real wait of the day!) -- almost an hour -- and it was about 9:15 when they finally had their ride.  Tari, Jensen and I watched from the "spectator stands" that they have set up next to the track.  That was really something -- I couldn't believe they rode it -- but they all loved it!

So that was it -- the boys thoroughly enjoyed their first trip to Cedar Point, and they're already planning on going back next year!!