Cedar Point: The #1 Rated Amusement Park in the World!! (2009 Update Including Discount Tickets)
Written: Sep 26 '00 (Updated Jul 17 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Millennium Force!! More roller coasters than any other park!
Cons: Loooong lines!!
The Bottom Line: The best amusement park in the world, but be prepared for long lines.
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| craigmoosh's Full Review: Cedar Point |
Being a roller coaster aficionado, I had been intrigued by Cedar Point Amusement Park ever since seeing it mentioned on a Discovery Channel special on roller coasters (one of the few Discovery Channel shows I'm smart enough to understand). The park has consistently been ranked as the number one amusement park in the world, and their Magnum XL-200 has been voted as the top steel coaster in the world several times. But the main reason I really wanted to go was their new roller coaster, The Millennium Force, which opened this year as the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the galaxy.
Location: Cedar Point Amusement Park is located in Sandusky, Ohio, on a peninsula of Lake Erie. The park is halfway between Cleveland and Toledo (approximately 60 miles each way). That puts it 114 miles from Detroit, 120 from Columbus, 288 from Chicago, 440 from Sheboygan, and 93 million miles from the sun.
Pricing Information (updated for 2009):
Adult: $44.99
Junior (ages 3 and older, but under 48"): $19.99
Children 3 and under: Free
Senior (age 62 and older): $19.99
Military: $33.99
Starlight (After 5 PM): $29.99
Two-day ticket (includes water park): $74.99
Senior two-day ticket (includes water park): $36.99
Junior two-day ticket (includes water park): $36.99
Parking: $10 ($15 for over-sized vehicles)
VIP Tours: If you have more money than you know what to do with, your best option is to send it all to me. Another option is to spend $400 per person to get a VIP Tour of Cedar Point. You will have an escort taking you to the front of all the lines. More information is here: http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/visit/vip.cfm
Discount tickets:
Here is a link to discounts for the 2009 season: http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/925833/
Park Info: Dating back to 1870, Cedar Point is the second oldest amusement park in North America. The name was derived from the cedar trees that once line the peninsula. The park now has more rides (68), roller coasters (14), steel roller coasters (12), and roller coaster track (44,013 feet) than any other amusement park in the world. The park is in a beautiful setting, is well maintained, and has a tremendous variety of great rides.
We went to Cedar Point on a Monday, figuring the lines wouldn't be very bad. We were wrong! We arrived shortly after the park opened at 10 AM, and left after the official closing time of 8 PM, but we only got on a total of 8 rides. Needless to say, it was disappointing to drive 800 miles round-trip for about 15 minutes of actual ride time. The popular roller coasters had lines of about an hour, with the wait for the Millennium Force being just short of two hours.
THE TOP RIDES
Note that this Cedar Point review was written in 2000, and there are a lot of new rides since then, including the awesome "Top Thrill Dragster," which is 420 feet tall, and goes an insane 120 MPH. New in 2007 was Maverick (no relation to John McSame), which was voted Best New Ride of 2007 by Amusement Today.
Millennium Force: When the Millennium Force opened in May of this year, it demolished previous roller coaster records. At a mind-boggling 310 feet high, and a top speed of 92 MPH, it beat the previous record ("Goliath" at Magic Mountain) by 55 feet and 7 MPH. (Note: a new coaster recently opened in Japan, which is 8 feet higher and 3 MPH faster than the Millennium Force).
When you first see the Millennium Force, there are two words that seem to come to everyone's mouth, the first word being "holy," the second being withheld for your protection. Just the sight of this big monstrosity on the lake leaves you in awe. It certainly doesn't look like something the general public should be allowed to ride on! It looks more like something NASA should use. The first hill is an incredible 310 feet high. To put this into perspective, the Statue of Liberty is 305 feet tall.
The Millennium Force's cars are open on the side, and the restraint goes across your waist, so you feel quite vulnerable as you strap in. The train leaves the station and immediately starts up the giant hill… quickly. The Millennium Force is the first roller coaster to have an elevator lift using a cable, instead of the standard lift chain. Unlike most coasters, which ascend the first hill slowly, this one really shoots up the hill, climbing the 310 feet in just 22 seconds. In the brief time you have to look down and have your life flash before your eyes, you notice a beautiful view of Lake Erie to your left. Just before it reaches the top of the hill, it speeds up, and flies over the top of the hill. Now hitting breakneck speeds of up to 92 MPH, it descends the hill nearly straight down at an 80 degree angle! That alone would be worthy of a great roller coaster, but the Millennium Force is relentless. It continues with several overbanked turns, and up two more large hills (169 and 182 feet). What really impressed me is that unlike many other high-speed roller coasters, the ride on the Millennium Force is as smooth as silk. It was head and shoulders the best roller coaster I've ever ridden.
Magnum XL-200: Other than the Millennium Force, this was the ride I was most excited about riding. With the first hill having a height of 210 feet and a top speed of 72 MPH, it was the highest and fastest in the world when it opened in 1989, and is still in the top 5 in both categories today. It has been voted the number one steel roller coaster in the world numerous times, including this year (Millennium Force was #2). All I can say is that the ballot boxes must have been stuffed. Don't get me wrong; this is still a great ride, but not in the same league as the Millennium Force or even the Raging Bull at Six Flag's Great America. The five other people with me all felt the same way. My main complaint about the ride is that it quite rough and knocks you around a lot.
Raptor: Similar in style to Great America's "Batman," the Raptor's seats are similar to a sky lift with your feet hanging down. As the train leaves the platform, the floor drops out and all hell breaks loose. The Raptor twists riders upside-down a total of 6 times at speeds up to 57 MPH. The Raptor boasts a "cobra-roll," which twists you upside down, then reverses direction and twists you upside-down in the opposite direction. I stepped off this ride completely discombobulated.
Power Tower: The Power Tower is a 300 foot tower with four 240 foot tall columns. Riders are strapped in, facing outward with their legs dangling. Two of the columns blast riders up at high speed, and the other two take riders up slowly then drop them in a near free-fall. In each, the riders go from 0 to 50 MPH in less than 3 seconds. This ride is literally breathtaking!
Miscellaneous Tips:
• Get there early if you can. The gates open an hour before official opening time, and some of the rides start running early.
• While food is fairly expensive, it is a bargain compared to Six Flags Great America. However, the food selection at Cedar Point is more limited.
• If you're unfamiliar with the park, grab a free park map at the entrance. Unfortunately, while the maps look cool with caricatures of the rides, they aren't real good at helping you figure out where the ride entrances are.
• Most of the thrill rides have height restrictions for kids/dwarves/Olympic gymnasts. This includes 54" for Millennium Force and Raptor, 52" for Power Tower, and 48" for Magnum XL-200.
Super Bonus! Fun Things to do in Line to Amuse Yourself and Pass the Time:
• Use your watch to reflect the sunlight in people's eyes; look away when they notice
• Tell a nervous person, "Omigod, a kid just flew off the ride!"
• Attach the queue chains to stranger's belt loops
• Sing "It's a Small World" repeatedly
• Speak to people with an accent; change accents
• Smile at people, then look away disgustedly when they smile back
• Act like you're being attacked by a swarm of imaginary bees
• Start a sing-a-long (preferably a Springsteen song)
• Cough hard until several people look, then say, "Damn, this hepatitis!"
• Bring a Palm Pilot; write epinions!
• Bring a Casio EV-510 mini-TV (see my next epinion); watch TV!
• Continually chant "Moooooosh!!"
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
craigmoosh
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Member: Craig
Location: Mequon, Wisconsin
Reviews written: 25
Trusted by: 200 members
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