August 13 2010 visit and review
Cedar Point: A summary of our recent day visit...Mom, Dad, and 16 year old son
I really benefitted from the discussions on this site...so here's my contribution in return.
We went to Cedar Point on Friday August 13, 2010. Family is Mom, Dad, and 16-year-old son.
First: we got there early and asked the parking guard if we could park in the Soak City parking lot...in order to be a little closer to the big rides toward the back of the park at opening. We were in fact allowed to do that...other posts seem to indicate that you aren't always allowed to. I think that saved us some time at opening and also saved us the hassles of fighting the bigger crowds at the main gate.
The park's policy of letting in the Resort guests and others (e.g. Platinum Pass) meant that there was a line on Millenium Force even though we were among the first to be let in at 10 a.m. We waited about 40 minutes...but then had the most amazing ride ever. This is everything it's described to be - incredibly fast, smooth, huge hills, just outstanding. Our key comparison point was the roller coasters at Six Flags in New Jersey and this beat them all by a huge margin.
Next we went to Maverick (another wait of about 1 hour), which, although smaller/not as big, still delivered a great ride with some nice quick drops, tons of rolls/spirals and a few cool surprises. Another huge winner.
Third we went to Magnum , which surprisingly didn't have much of a line. Two big hills, some great airtime, very quick. My only complaint was that the lap bar really bangs down on your thighs...much less smooth than Millenium.
Fourth, we went on Dragster (40 minute wait). I've been on the one at Six Flags in New Jersey and I really think this one is quicker, with a faster start so that you're up to speed in seconds.
Fifth, we went to Mean Streak (30 minute wait). The comments are true - this is a very rough and taxing ride which although fast just bangs you around so much that you feel like you're fighting the ride the whole time. Not recommended!
Our strategy was to get to the most popular rides first. Here are quick takes on the other rides we went on:
Raptor: right up there with the top rides. Fast, looping, smooth, some great turns. The wait around 4:30 was only 10 minutes.
Wicked Twister: underrated. A great super fast start, and then you go way up the spiral and come back through the starting area all the way to the other spiral. Worth going on for sure and lines were short.
Mantis: stand-up coaster, kind of a different experience. It was ok but not great.
Iron Dragon: older coaster, another "junior" coaster.
Disaster Transport: a monster mouse in the dark, very cheap imitation of Disney's Space Mountain. Short, no big deal but it is air conditioned in the building.
The only show we went to was the Rock show which was very energetic and the kids did a good job.
Some miscellaneous tips:
Bring change for the lockers outside of Millenium and Dragster if you have a purse - you have to store it and they cost $2 for the single-use lockers (kind of a ripoff). You can bring a sealed bottle of water into the park and then just refill it at the various water fountains (it was 90 degrees and humid the day we went). Wear a hat and sunscreen for sure - many of the lines are exposed to the sun. there's a nice pathway from Soak city to the resorts and further down along the beach if you need a little break from the action..just get your hand stamped before you leave. Also there's a welcome center in Sandusky on route 250 and the people there were very friendly and helpful.
We stayed at the Econolodge right near the causeway entrance on Cleveland Street. Was relatively inexpensive, clean, good service and a more-than-adequate breakfast - plus saved us time getting out and into the park in the morning. We ate one night at Ryan's which has a great buffet for about $11/person, and the second night at the Eastern Buffet at the Sandusky Mall which had a nice selection of things including sushi and shrimp.
So all in all- a really great day. Got to ride 10 rides in total. Advise getting there early and plotting out the key rides you want in advance. Have patience because the top rides seemed to have lines all day. But it's a really beautiful place, great views of the water, I wish we could go back easily but it's a long trip from Connecticut!
Thanks for sharing. Did you ride my third-favorite
ride in the park...Cedar Downs?
Incidentally, Disaster Transport is not a Mouse, because you don't travel on steel track. It's a bobsled coaster where you travel freely in a trough.
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