Cedar Point - The Best of the Best
Written: Jun 24 '02 (Updated Jun 24 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Quality and Quantity of rides. Something to keep everyone entertained.
Cons: Prepare to wait in lines and take long walks between rides.
The Bottom Line: If you're prepared to wait in lines and do some walking, this park is great! Thrill seekers will find some truly amazing rides at this record breaking park!
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| mistrtonee's Full Review: Cedar Point |
Ah yes, Cedar Point. Home to more than a dozen roller coasters. In addition, there are hundreds of other attractions and things to do at this resort/park in Sandusky, Ohio. It is on a Peninsula jutting out into Lake Erie, so if you're lucky, you'll even get a lake breeze to cool you off on a hot summer day.
Before you head out to this glorious wonder of mechanical engineering and thrills, there are a few things to keep in mind.
One: EVERYONE knows about this park. Any weekend it is open will be extremely busy.
Two: On hot days, the body heat in any line will drive you crazy. Especially considering that you will be waiting in line for up to three hours for the best rides on a weekend.
So taking this advice into account, you should choose a day to go. Although with work schedules and school, it is difficult to go during the week and earlier in the year, this is the best time to go. I went on a random Tuesday in May one year, and it was an absolute blast. There was still a small crowd later in the day, but I could ride even the best rides with an average 30 minute wait or less.
Now that we have the few unpleasant things out of the way, let's talk about the good things!!
If you are the type of person who loves to hurl yourself as quickly as possible up into the air, and down toward the ground, you'll love this place. I'm one of these people. More on this in a bit!
If you are someone looking for some fun and just to hang out on some smaller thrill rides or with some entertainment, Cedar Point has many smaller wooden roller coasters and a kiddie coaster or two. There are dancers singing blasts from the past and maybe a magic show or two. There are plenty of carnival style games, rides, restaurants, and gift shops available as well. One thing about this that does get annoying for the thrill seekers is walking across the park past several blocks of carnival activities. Cedar Point has this set up to make extra money when people get tired of walking. I am just there to get my money's worth in roller coasters and wish they were closer together! It is still worth it, believe me.
In addition to the thrills and entertainment of the main Cedar Point park, there are areas with resort hotels and an entire water park that offers the usual water slides and other such thrills. I believe you can even sign up to parasail out on Lake Erie.
Now, the moment you have all been waiting for: The Thrills
I'm going to save the best for last, The Millenium Force roller coaster. Those of you who have been there and ridden it will know how amazing it really is. Those of you who haven't need to partake at your next convenience. Let me just say, that it is the most insane and apparent part of the Cedar Point skyline as you are approaching the park coming down the causeway. It is absolutely amazing to look at and to ride. More on this in a bit.
Among some of Cedar Point's pioneering roller coasters are:
Blue Streak - Small little wooden coaster. Only a 70 or 80 foot drop, but it was amazing in the 1950s when it was first opened.
Gemini - One of the first racer roller coasters. A wooden coaster with a pretty formidable first drop. A word of warning: If you put your arms up on drops, put them down before the bottom of the drop, the G forces on the bottom caused me to ram my elbows into the lap bar once giving me some pretty nifty bruises.
Corkscrew - One of the first upside down roller coasters. This one opened sometime in the 1970s around the same time as Gemini.
Magnum - This roller coaster was pioneering in many ways when it first opened. Granted it doesn't go upside down. However, in 1989 when it debuted, it was the world's tallest roller coaster. Dubbed a "Hypercoaster" This modern marvel stands just over 200 feet tall and has an insane first drop. However, it seems pretty tame these days in the face of Millenium Force.
Raptor - Suspended roller coaster with many flips and rolls and a few surprises along the way. Built in the early 90's. The cool thing about this suspended coaster in general is that it is spread out. Many suspended rides are built on a small plot of land to save space. This ride is built on a larger plot of land to spread it out and enable a smoother, faster ride with more spins and twists built to thrill.
Mantis - An awesome stand up roller coaster. As with the Raptor, this ride is spread out on more land than many of the older stand up rides. This ride thrives on loops. You will find yourself upside down more times than you might have imagined.
Power Tower - This is a drop style ride where you get shot up or shot down at an incredible rate of speed. You bounce up and down several times before the ride is over. Make sure you decide which way you want to be shot (up or down) before you step into line. This was the most prominent landmark on the Cedar Point skyline prior to the 2000 season when Millenium Force was opened.
Demon Drop - While we are talking about drops, Demon Drop is another drop ride. Not nearly as good a Power Tower, but it's older. You free fall in an elevator like car that lands on its back after about 4 or 5 seconds of free fall.
Mean Streak - This is an amazing wooden coaster and a work of art. It reaches speeds of 60 mph while giving you the old fashioned thrills and negative G's common to the more typical wooden coaster. It's clear at the back of the park, but worth the walk to brave this monster's twisted warpage.
Millenium Force
Ok folks, now for Millenium Force. At its opening, it was the worlds tallest roller coaster. The second time Cedar Point has achieved this record in recent times. That record was recently broken by a roller coaster that is just a few feet taller but not nearly as thrilling (It is all the way over in Japan). Let us just say that this is still the tallest roller coaster in the western hemisphere.
Millenium Force features a first drop that is:
OVER 300 FEET TALL
This means that you fall for about 8 seconds. During this time, you actually have time to see the ground and trees streaming up at you. At the bottom of the drop, you are traveling in excess of 90 mph. At one point on the drop, you are traveling at 80 degrees from the ground, or 10 degrees from straight down! The curvature of the drop is such that you really need to trust your lap belt. It is the ONLY thing holding you from flying out of the ride. You get the longest period of sustained negative G's that you've probably ever experienced in addition to the other thrills on this drop.
The remainder of the ride is just as thrilling, with negative G's galore (the feeling of getting pushed up out of your seat). Even the second drop, a good 30 seconds into the ride, is only 20 feet shy of Magnum's first drop! You will travel at record breaking speeds throughout the ride until that last turn into the station. Believe me, this is a new class of ride.
This should provide you with a decent summary of the better rides Cedar Point has to offer. For a full listing and other details of the park, visit their website:
http://www.cedarpoint.com
Keep in mind that if you want to visit, try for a weekday. Also, it is only $30 or $40 to get in all day and ride all the major rides as much as you like. It is really a great deal considering everything you get. In my opinion, this is the best park in the midwest and it has some of the best rides available in the world!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
mistrtonee
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Member: Tony Young
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota
Reviews written: 43
Trusted by: 7 members
About Me:
B.S. Computer Engineering Purdue University 2002. Getting Married in October!
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