Some Blog Site

I took Alpha on a trip to Cedar Point. I hadn’t been there since 1990-something.

It’s a lot smaller than I remember.

I’m sure it’s the same size – it’s just my perspective has changed. Most of my memories from there are as a grade-schooler and middle-schooler.

Things I’m disappointed aren’t there anymore:

• IMAX – a highlight of the day because of two things: air-conditioning and sitting. Plus that feeling you got when the movie crested the mountain peak and you thought you were going to fall…
• Pirate Ride – I didn’t like roller coasters much, so this flat ride was one I handle.
• Paddlewheel excursion – I didn’t ride this much, but it was a nice diversion. Again, not a roller coaster.
• Jungle Larry’s Animal Safari – I was trying to remember where exactly this was. I think Mantis or Millenium Force is there now.

Things that changed:

• Junior Gemini – It’s still there, just as a Snoopy ride now
• Ferris Wheel – It’s supposed to be by the train station. Although having it right by the shore does provide a nice view now.
• Steam Enginges – I didn’t check, but it seems to me that the trains have been converted from coal power into something else. There’s no smoke, and no nostalgia-inducing smell.

Regarding the Ferris Wheel:

There was a nice cool breeze at the top, and a good view of the park. And there was a really good view of the Wicked Twister:

Next to the Ferris Wheel is the Gatekeeper. I was contemplating riding that, but Alpha wasn’t interested so I just took a photo instead.

Maybe I should back up and start the recap of the whole day. Woke up, drove some hours to get there by the 10:00 opening time (got there at 10:15, so not too bad), put on sunscreen, and went in.

The first thing we did was take the train to the back of the park. Then Alpha wanted to ride the water rides. After noticing they were all closed, we discovered that the water rides don’t open until noon.

So we wandered around the Frontier Trail, since that’s where the water rides are.

By then we were starting to get hungry, so we ate at Chick-fil-A. Having never been before, and having heard people rave about their chicken sandwiches, I was prepared for an awesome meal. It was fine, but it certainly wasn’t worth the $11.00 I paid for the combo meal (sandwich, fries, and drink). I assume prices outside of an amusement park are more reasonable.

Knowing Alpha wouldn’t want to ride any roller coasters right after having eaten, I suggested we drive the Cadillac Cars.

At least those are still how I remembered them, including the covered bridge.

Here is Alpha driving:

Then off to the water rides. No photos of those, since I put my camera (and phone, and wallet) in a Ziploc bag for the water rides. My plan was to ride the water rides for a while and then be done. I came prepared, so I didn’t mind getting wet, but I wanted to stay dry once I got dry. So we rode Thunder Canyon, then Snake River Falls, then we tried to ride Shoot the Rapids, but it was broken so we rode Thunder Canyon again. With Thunder Canyon, you have a chance to not get soaked. We rode in the front of Snake River Falls, and there is no avoiding getting soaked. The back of the ride gets less soaked.

Then we went to the regular coasters. Starting with Mine Ride:

The we rode the train up to the front. I was glad to see that Boneville was still populated.

We rode Blue Streak:

You’ll notice the Pirate Ride building is still there, just filled in and repainted. But look at the top right of the building and you’ll see a cannon left-over from the good-old days.

Then we rode the bumper cars, and dashed off to the 3:00 showing of the All-Wheels Extreme show.

It’s worth seeing. I knew to expect guys on bikes doing flips and stunts. The trampoline stunts were even more interesting, but the most impressive was the guy doing flips not with a bike but with a scooter. A plain Razor-type scooter.

Then we walked back up the side of the park, staring in amazement at the Top Thrill Dragster. It was running, and it was fun to watch that thing take off. Every time – “how does it go so fast?”

We continued on and I found something else that hadn’t changed in decades:

Monster!

No. We did not ride it. I just like that even the sign is intact.

Then on to Slingshot:

See last week’s post for more information about Slingshot.

We rode Mine Ride one more time, then it was dinner time, so we stopped in at the Chuck Wagon Inn. I wanted a sit-down restaurant, and that looked like the best option. It was okay. Food was decent, but not worth $16 a plate. The plates, by the way, were paper and the food was scooped onto them by the cafeteria lady as you slid your tray down the rails and told her what you wanted.

Then Alpha was done. “Let’s go home.” were his words.

I figured we would save ourselves the walk, so we went to the train station. We must have just missed the train, because when the train did arrive 15 minutes later, Alpha remarked that we could have walked and beaten the train. A short ride through Boneville and we were back near the main corridor. We walked until we found a frozen custard stand (that is, a stand that sold frozen custard), and we ate our desserts as we made our way to the front gate.

We were home around 10:00pm.

Summary: Alpha liked Cedar Point better than Michigan’s Adventure.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.