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Cedar Point is the leader in top-of-the-line rollercoasters.
It has better rollercoaster than any other park in the world.
If you want thrills... this is your park.
Cedar Point is located on a peninsual in Sandusky,
Ohio. The only way into and out of the park is via the Cedar Point
Causeway which is about 1 mile long. As you drive up the causeway,
you can catch a glimpse of the top of some of the Point's tallest
coasters, including Millenium Force. Parking is $7.00. If you
arrive around 9:00am, you can usually grab a pretty good spot.
After making your way to the park entrance, you can buy tickets
or pick up pre-purchased tickets in the Guest Relations office
located to the right.
The park gates open at 9:00am. The only ride in
the park thats opens before 10:00am is Millenium Force. I reccommend
riding the 'Force first. When the park gates go up, literally
EVERYONE runs to Millenium Force. So... run down the midway, jog
to the left, sprint past mantis, and dodge the train tracks. You've
reached Millenium Force!
Millennium Force is the best rollercoaster at Cedar
Point -- hands down (or up ;). Nothing tops this thing. Incredible.
After hitting "Millenium Force", the next
logical ride choice is "Mantis". It directly across
from MF and it's one of Cedar Point's "must ride" coasters.
Mantis's queue moves slowly, so hitting it early, before the queue
has a chance to fill, is usually a good choice. The Mantis is
built primarily over a man-made lake. This creates a rather cool
effect when the coaster rushes past the surface of the lake at
high speeds. The queue weaves through the coaster's layout providing
a lot for you to watch while waiting to ride. Finally, after ascending
a flight of stairs, you reach Mantis's station.
Mantis is a great standup coaster from B&M.
Not too fast, no too slow. The elements create an almost perfect
blend for a stand up. A really great coaster.
After getting whipped around on Mantis, we decided
to hit the Magnum...
The Magnum XL-200 is the second highest coaster
at Cedar Point. It was built in 1989 by Arrow-Dynamics. It features
a 200ft drop. While this ride is still a "must ride"
it's nothing when compared to Millenium Force.
Magnum is located at the back of the park, so it
might take 5-8 at a decent pace from Mantis. The entrance is not
totally clear and sort of in a bizarre spot, but once you find
it, the line should be basically non-existant. You might as well
wait for the front seat, we got on in about 10 minutes. The front
seat is by far the most thrilling. It takes a full 2 minutes to
get to the top of the lift hill. The ride itself is only about
1 minute long. You get a nice view from the top and the layout
is nice. It's basically an "out and back" along the
lake Eerie shoreline. It ends with a series of tunnels and hills
designed to give plenty of airtime. While this is a good ride...it
just can't compare to Millenium Force.
Two other coasters are also located near Magnum,
Gemini and Mean Streak. I strongly dislike Gemini. It's an Arrow-Dynamics
"runaway train" ride built on wood supports. The sharp
transitions make it...well... uncomforatable to say the least.
The final helix is pretty cool, but the rest of the ride is boring.
If you want to ride it, at least it should be a walk-on. When
we were there, they only had one side running. That really took
away from the experience. We then picked up extra-large drinks
for around $3.00 -- that's a really awesome price for an amusement
park!
Mean Streak should be next on your agenda. It is
the Point's largest wooden rollercoaster. It held the title of
"World's biggest wooden coaster" up until "Ghostrider"
was built in 1999. It features a 155ft drop and an extra long
layout. The line for this ride was non-existant on a Saturday.
I enjoyed Mean Streak a lot. I thought the layout was superb.
My biggest complaint (along with everyone else who's ever ridden
it) is that it is WAAAAAYYY too rough. It literally "beats
you up". However... the beating is much less severe
if you keep your head away from the back of the car. You see,
the backs of the cars are made out of some kind of light material.
In any event, when ever the car shakes a litte, the backs vibrate.
However, being a wooden coaster, the seat backs are practically
in "earthquake" mode. Just remember to keep your head
away from the back and you should survive =).
Raptor will probably be next on your list. This
ride is the best inverted coaster ever created. Period. The drop
may not be as tall or steep as "Alpengeist"...it may
not have as many inversions as "Dueling Dragons"...and
it may not pull as many G's as "Top Gun", but Raptor
is simply the best. The queue winds around Raptor's intense
final helix and under the station. Towards the end of the line,
you ascend a few stairs and then you're at the boarding station.
Wait for the front. Just do it. After the wait, you get in, pull
down on the should harness and get ready to party! The front gates
swing open and out of the station you go. At the top of the lift
hill, you make a slight turn to the left and down you go! Raptor
then hits you with 6 high speed inversions including it's famous
first loop and cobra roll. This ride is my second favorite--losing
to Millenium Force by only a few points.
Really, you should ride all the coasters...but we
didn't have time to. We rode "Iron Dragon", "Cedar
Creek Mine Ride" (stay away from it unless you have kids),
and ended the day with a 3rd ride on "Millenium Force".
Basically, my advice is to hit the "top coasters", ride
the "other coasters" in the middle of the day and then
go back and hit any flat rides you want to ride. Finish up the
day with a few memorable trips on your favorite coaster(s).
CedarPoint is an excellent park. All the ride ops
are friendly, the food is good and varied, there are rides for
everyone, and almost every coaster is top of the line. The park's
atmosphere is just awesome, the rides are incredible, and the
entire experience will be worth your trip, no matter the cost.
Score:
Coaster score: 10/10
Food score: 9/10
Atmosphere score:
10/10
Park score: 10/10
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