Saturday dawned clear and bright. No it didn’t. The Midwest was (and is) currently enjoying a daily dose of unstable air, high heat and humidity, and intermittent thunderstorms. Kind of like Miami Beach weather in the summer.. except for the beach part. Nevertheless, RB and little RB set out in the family Truckster to join the middle school orchestras for the annual Cedar Point outing. This year’s excursion involved much coaster riding on the part of RB’s daughter and her friends, capped off with a ride on the Ferris Wheel where we were stopped at the very top of the wheel. More on Cedar Point after the jump!
We managed to outrun the weather and arrived at the park with not a raindrop in sight. For your edification, the picture above shows that guests have the option of purchasing Fast Lane. RB doesn’t know anything about this but our blog host Lebeau is expert and can advise readers on what factors to weigh in deciding whether these are worth paying extra for. The day of our visit, the threat of thunderstorms may have deterred some potential visitors. The wait for any rides averaged 15-20 minutes for the most part, and sometimes there was almost no line at all.
This year we had a low chaperon-to-student ratio, and we were assigned to a small group with 2 other students who were good friends of my daughter’s, one of the girls’ moms, plus a family friend which meant that we had 3 chaperons for our 3 students. Once inside the park, the agreed-upon first ride was the Gatekeeper. My daughter (herein referred to as Tink) took a pass on this coaster. Gatekeeper is striking enough to witness, even looking at the empty track with its massive drop, and I supported Tink’s decision wholeheartedly. Oddly enough, the posted 45 minute wait was the longest we saw for any ride that day.
While Rougarou is billed as the new “floorless” coaster, you can clearly see how rider’s legs dangle from the Gatekeeper, so I don’t see where the floor is there. At one point the coaster passed so near to the ground, that if you are walking by at the right time, you can experience the coaster without even being on it. I about jumped out of my skin.
We explored the immediate area, went for a bathroom break and rejoined our group at the next destination ride, the Iron Dragon. This is what both of my kids characterize as a “mid-level” coaster, although neither of them thinks I can handle it. They are without doubt 100% correct. The landscaping provides a nice setting to wait in, and I was able to get this shot of the Dragon leaving the platform.
The clever use of water features, is kind of a recurring theme you will see at Cedar Point, and I love looking at water. When in Vegas, I usually feel guilty (even though I had nothing to do with it) about water use but given that Cedar Point is right on Lake Erie, it all seems more appropriate.
When we walked up closer from this angle, these fellows swam over to say hello:
There are other areas in the park where you can buy fish food from a vending machine, near Camp Snoopy, the section of the crowd geared towards the youngest visitors.
After the girls enjoyed several Iron Dragon rides, it was mutually decided to head over to the Mine Ride at the end of the park. Last year we took the Sky Ride to cover one of the walking segments, but I was outvoted even with the minimal line, everyone else thought we’d get there faster by walking, especially since the heat wasn’t oppressive. It’s an entertaining walk for sure, with all the Old West imagery along the way.
There’s a Cedar Point Railroad, which promises a tour of the entire park but which wasn’t operational on the day of our visit. We were hoping to ride this time since it also wasn’t operating for last year’s trip. The employee would only say that it wasn’t operating “right now” but might be later.
Of course, we walked past a couple of cowboys rehearsing for their next shootout
Last year, while trying to get my bearings, and also being conscious of responsibility as a chaperon to a larger group of kids than we had this year, I had failed to appreciate as much of the surrounding landscape. Without having to keep my eyes on as many different kids, I encouraged our group to stop and take things in at a more leisurely pace. The small “barnyard” with baby goats and pigs was a big hit among the preteen girls.
We arrived at the mine ride and the other two adults traded riding with the girls as they kindly remembered from last year that RB doesn’t do coasters.
Fortunately, both of the other adults were dedicated coaster enthusiasts. While waiting for the group to finish enjoying the Mine Ride, RB observed some horrifying contraption called the Sky Hawk. There had been an incident last year involving a broken cable on the Sky Hawk, with a couple of resultant injuries but thankfully no deaths. How do I know this? Because my 12-year-old Googled “Cedar Point Deaths” the day before our trip!
And soon it was time for lunch. This is probably a good time to review Cedar Point food options in a bit more detail
The most mistaken impression I had from last year’s visit is that there was a lack of indoor dining options inside the park. In fact, there are many such options.
The mistaken conclusion may be attributable to being in unfamiliar territory, walking along with a group from ride to ride and not noticing everything along the way. Having a better sense of the park layout this year, I saw that there are numerous places where you can sit down for a meal or beverage break, starting with a Starbucks near the front entrance!
Starbucks has long been a Mecca for RB and they now have some good sandwich selections in addition to the valuable caffeine and sugar rush, not to mention WiFi and a tables with outlets for recharging.
There’s also a 50s style “diner” complete with old model replica cars in front, and other places where you can escape either the unrelenting sun or an unpredictable Midwest thunderstorm.
As it turned out, the others in our group wished to return to the same outdoor counter where we had lunch last year. I probably could have suggested we try something different, but given there is a difference in being with a larger group instead of immediate family, I went with the flow. So my daughter got the pizza slice and I tried something called a “walking taco.” Both overpriced of course, but the pizza is at least edible. If you’ve never tried the walking taco, you can safely skip this item in favor of anything else. It’s essentially a bag of Doritos, with toppings that are supposed to resemble, cheese, ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream, but instead become a gelatinous mass that I honestly would not give to a dog. It was impossible to eat and I threw it away.
If I do get talked into this trip for the third and final time next summer, (because after that, my daughter is done with middle school) there will be definite changes for meal planning. For starters, you can bring coolers from home, which you can’t bring into the park but you can leave them at one of the picnic pavilions, or in your car. Also, my theory on restaurant planning while in parks such as this is that there is a price floor. Meaning, you can’t spend any less than the 6$ pizza slice or hot dog, so you might as well spend just a few dollars more and enjoy a break inside as opposed to standing in line for food outside and then eating outside.
Lunchtime was also a required time for chaperon and student check in with the music teacher, and after this bit of housekeeping was accomplished, we set off with our students once again. The afternoon itinerary was a good deal more adventurous. Tink rode the mighty Gemini, twice, as well as the Blue Streak. Tell me that the structure supporting the Gemini doesn’t remind you of toothpicks!?
RB was so grateful that the other chaperons were able to go on the rides. While waiting for them to finish their adventures, RB enjoyed watching the Top Speed Dragster.
There are actually aluminum bleachers for spectators to watch the Dragster, kind of like you’re at a racetrack. It’s a great vantage point, although there’s no shade if the sun is beating down, and it reflects off the aluminum. Just being nearby when that thing took off was startling.
At this point the other mom and her daughter wanted a break from coaster riding and went off in search of refreshment and mild diversions such as fake tattoos. The rest of us sat in the shade for a bit. After that, our group reassembled and we noticed the Sky Ride line was almost nonexistent and we hurried to get on board. This I could ride back and forth all day.
We disembarked and started brainstorming what to do with the remaining time. Tink and I wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel but none of the others were interested. So we agreed to separate, as the rest of the group wanted to wind down and play some of the ubiquitous carnival games. RB has trouble conceptualizing the payment of 5$ for a few seconds of aiming a squirt gun at a plastic daisy, or paying someone 3$ to guess your age. So off we went to the Ferris Wheel.
This was the longest line we saw other than the Gatekeeper line: It was over a half hour, and Tink and I had to wait a little longer due to the employees looking for groups of 4 to balance the wheel. There was a sweet trade-off, though, we spent a good bit of time stopped towards the top, then the very top, then another time on the way down. A cool breeze at altitude had us putting our jackets back on. We enjoyed the surreal view of the park on one side, and the lake on the other.
Last but not least, we stopped by the Carousel on the way out. There’s such a great sense of history in these amusement park classics and the one at Cedar Point is certainly historic. And how can anyone not admire the detailed and loving workmanship? My impressions over the years have been that for most people, carousels are not cool past a certain age, and the second a child decides they are too big to ride one, carousels are then relegated to the category of rides for little kids and their parents. Well, I’ve not changed my mind about the magic of carousels, and Tink is now a dedicated coaster rider, yet she shared my feelings about the humble carousel. That feeling of affection for your own beautiful horse. Tink named hers “Peanut Butter.”
And here’s a closeup of the text on the sign:
It was time to say goodbye to the park, to Tink’s friends and to the nice ladies who put up with a non-coaster person in their group so that all 3 students could enjoy themselves to the fullest. Will I get talked into this next year? Up in the air. I’ve learned a few things that would help with a repeat experience, and for a non-theme park person, that’s as good as it gets.
Edit: Another entry in the “learn by experience” category, I was presented with a choice of 3 different picture sizes when transferring these to Lebeau. Reasoning that the detail looked excellent anyway with the iPhone camera and that it was best not to take up space, I sent the smallest format. I also thought that the larger pictures would have turned out fuzzy. Seeing now that the difference in detail is amazing, that clarity would not have been sacrificed using the larger formats, and that you can’t read the placard in the last picture.
So..yeah… live and learn.
Some of the text in the sign: “One of the few Daniel Muller carousels in existence, the Midway Carousel was built in 1912. In 1946 it began delighting children of all ages at Cedar Point which makes it the park’s oldest operating ride. The 60 horses and 4 chariots are Muller’s most impressive carvings. An ornate Wurlitzer 153 band organ is responsible for the lovely music. 1994 the carousel was moved into its current building which is adorned with more than 3200 lights. Cedar Point artists and technicians also totally restored all of the carousel’s panels and wood carvings.” I… Read more »