Cedar Point Review!
WOOHOO! Now I know why Cedar Point has been voted the NUMBER 1 amusement park in the world for like a zillion years.. Okay actually it has been the last 14 years according to Amusement Today but does it matter? This place is UN-Believe-Able! I have not been to Cedar Point since I was a freshman in college and lets just say that was several years ago and it was like stepping into a whole other amusement park. That is why it keeps being nominated year after year and winning the same award because Cedar Point is constantly reinventing themselves!
To truly understand our day please allow me to introduce to you the fellow reviewers: The line up includes:
So, as a mother and an aunt I had my fears as you can imagine. I feared that my oldest daughter would want to ride the big rides which would make my four year old feel left out. I also feared that she would get to the ride, stand in line, and then chicken out. I feared that my four year old would be bored out of her mind because there wasn't enough rides to keep her attention (boy was I WRONG!) and of course my fear that they would spend most of the day in line and only get to ride a few rides. Apparently I am a worrier!! In the end it was nothing like I expected!
To start out our adventurous day we got to the park quite early and paid for priority parking so that we could enjoy the closeness of our vehicles to the front entrance since we planned a mid-afternoon lunch tailgate style. The parking was a little steep ($12 for regular parking & $20 for priority) but it is well advertised and expected since most parks now do charge for parking. We received our tickets from customer service which were so wonderful and excited to have us there to review the park almost as happy as we were to be there. As soon as we walked in we were welcomed by Hurricane Hannah's so my daughter Hannah knew it was going to be an excellent day!
To truly understand our day please allow me to introduce to you the fellow reviewers: The line up includes:
- My husband, the avid Roller Coaster Veteran, who has been to Cedar Point around 23 times growing up as a kid but has not visited in the past 10 years
- My teenage niece, the Roller Coaster Rookie, who has literally NO FEAR!
- My middle school aged niece, the I am not going on that even if you paid me rider
- My Cousin Regina, who would prefer to be on the ground as much as possible but is up for a dare
- My 6 year old daughter, the Roller Coaster Rookie in training, who has no fear of anything until she actually gets up there
- My 4 year old daughter, who is too small to ride on the big rides but would drop anything to do it!
- Me, love a good roller coaster but takes a lot of coercion to actually get me on my first one!
So, as a mother and an aunt I had my fears as you can imagine. I feared that my oldest daughter would want to ride the big rides which would make my four year old feel left out. I also feared that she would get to the ride, stand in line, and then chicken out. I feared that my four year old would be bored out of her mind because there wasn't enough rides to keep her attention (boy was I WRONG!) and of course my fear that they would spend most of the day in line and only get to ride a few rides. Apparently I am a worrier!! In the end it was nothing like I expected!
To start out our adventurous day we got to the park quite early and paid for priority parking so that we could enjoy the closeness of our vehicles to the front entrance since we planned a mid-afternoon lunch tailgate style. The parking was a little steep ($12 for regular parking & $20 for priority) but it is well advertised and expected since most parks now do charge for parking. We received our tickets from customer service which were so wonderful and excited to have us there to review the park almost as happy as we were to be there. As soon as we walked in we were welcomed by Hurricane Hannah's so my daughter Hannah knew it was going to be an excellent day!
I think with most families we ended up splitting up into two groups. The Roller coaster riders and the feet on the ground riders and decided to meet up within three hours. The roller coasters took off to ride their first ride the Corkscrew and they couldn't be more pleased with this ride. As my husband says it was a flashback to his childhood! The line was relatively short so they were on and off the ride rather quickly.
While they were riding the Corkscrew we took advantage of Kiddie Kingdom with my two daughters! They had so much fun riding the race cars, the motorcycles, and helicopters. There was very short lines and the kiddos seem to feel extra important having a designated area just for them!
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After playing in Kiddy Kingdom they girls had built up an appetite so we decided to take off to get some fries before tackling some bigger rides like the Scrambler, Matterhorn, and the Gemini Jr. The one thing I can say about Cedar Point is how everything fits together so perfectly. A little of the new tangled up with a little of the old.. that's how it felt when we ate at Pink's it was like we jumped back in time! You feel like you could easily see Fonzi or Chachi walk up and start the jukebox! The fries were to die for as well and as far as amusement park pricing rather affordable!!
While we were transported back in time the Roller Coaster group had their eyes set on the MANTIS! The Mantis did have a longer wait time than most roller coasters but it's one of their biggest attractions and they only had to wait around 1.5 hours to ride this ride (fast lane pass purchasers only had a 10 minute wait... so for the extra $50 dollars it's probably a smart sale!) but they said they would have waited even longer for it as it was AWESOME!
While we waited for them to be done with the Mantis the rest of us took advantage of the train ride which was by far my favorite and my daughter Hannah's favorite attraction. The train ride takes about 10 minutes and you have the choice to get off on the other side of the park by the Gemini or keep on to go back to your original destination. During the train ride little scenes are set up to replicate gun fights among skeletons which added a humorous spin on the ride!
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Once we all got back together we headed to the parking lot for a yummy lunch! They have several picnic tables lined up just outside the gates for your to take advantage of. We decided since we parked so close that we would just enjoy the food at our car and tailgate. When we re-entered the park our goal was to watch the Snoopy Live show at 5pm but got sidetracked by the Pirate ship or the Ocean Motion as it is called at Cedar Point. This ride is so awesome because EVERYONE could ride it including my 4 year old- who wanted to keep riding it again and again! All little kids need to sit on the inside of the ride for safety reasons but none seem to mind!
I think for me the biggest attraction at Cedar Point is the Top Thrill Dragster which is BEYOND intimidating. This ride goes 0 to 120 in about 4 seconds.. yes I said SECONDS. Literally in 17 seconds you have gone 120 miles an hour up heading straight up into the sky (420 feet up in the sky) and back down to the finish line! OMG! It is insane! People would just sit and watch the riders for hours it was so entertaining!
Our night ended with all of us (minus the kiddos) riding the Power Tower... It was so much fun!! The only negative that I have to say about our whole day is how the night ended. We decided to eat at Johnny Rockets before we left the park and we all wish we wouldn't have. The waitress was rude, slow, and impatient. The food was mediocre at best and for the price of the the food we were highly disappointed. Of course this would not prevent us from going back to the park.. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! NO WAY! I spoke to a few people who recently visited Cedar Point and they said normally Johnny Rockets is AWESOME so perhaps it was just our experience with a waitress having a bad day. We have all been there!
Overall, our day was fantastic! I recommend anyone taking the time to go to Cedar Point. Cedar Point tickets start out at $36.95 for day tickets and slightly higher for the weekends. You can also get discounted tickets by staying at one of their hotels which border the park. They even have camping for those of you who like to rough it a little! You also get early admission into the park (1 hour early) if you stay at one of their hotels- that is awesome so you can take advantage of the all the great coasters like the Gemini, Iron Dragon, Magnum, Maverick, Mean Streak, Millennium Force, Raptor, and so many more!!
If you get a chance take some time to read about the new GATEKEEPER coming in May of 2013! You will see why Cedar Point is continually the number 1 Amusement Park in the World! I am stoked for this one!!!
Happy Summer from our family to yours!!
Overall, our day was fantastic! I recommend anyone taking the time to go to Cedar Point. Cedar Point tickets start out at $36.95 for day tickets and slightly higher for the weekends. You can also get discounted tickets by staying at one of their hotels which border the park. They even have camping for those of you who like to rough it a little! You also get early admission into the park (1 hour early) if you stay at one of their hotels- that is awesome so you can take advantage of the all the great coasters like the Gemini, Iron Dragon, Magnum, Maverick, Mean Streak, Millennium Force, Raptor, and so many more!!
If you get a chance take some time to read about the new GATEKEEPER coming in May of 2013! You will see why Cedar Point is continually the number 1 Amusement Park in the World! I am stoked for this one!!!
Happy Summer from our family to yours!!
Disclaimer: Free is for Me was not paid for this review. Free is for Me received tickets to visit the park and write an honest review of the park. The opinions demonstrated in this review are those of Free is for Me and might differ from your own.
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