Cedar Point - A Review

     Page Two Hundred Sixty-Three.

The Entrance circa 2005(?)

     I recently went to Cedar Point.  (One of the reason why I'm behind with my blogs. I lost a day there and a few days afterwards due to the recuperation process.) Let me tell you about it.
     I hadn't been to Cedar Point since the summer of '12 when I went with the real Thomas, Jackson, William and their father. (I was nannying that family at the time.) Dad felt he couldn't handle those three by himself so he asked for my assistance at Cedar Point, as well as at Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor water park ten minutes from CP, where we spent the next day. I had a blast. My job was to accompany William and do whatever he wanted. William, 8 years old at the time, and I were pretty much on the same exact page with almost everything, so we both had the time of our lives. (That's why I got him. Even though he's the youngest, he's the most fearless of the kids.)
     I didn't make it to CP last year, '13, but was determined to go this year. I asked, nay, bugged, many of my friends, but nobody could join me. Lost time from work, expense, fear of roller coaster, etc. were the excuses given. My friends just refuse to live on the edge. But then, a couple of weeks ago, I heard through the rumor mill that my nephew Michael and his girlfriend would be coming into town for a few days. Upon phoning him and confirming said rumor, I told him of my desires and he was totally on board. (You should know that Nephew Michael is one of this planet's all time coolest people.) I picked up Michael and Tricia from his sister's home (niece Heather and fiance Mark live very close to downtown Cleveland, 20 minutes from me) at 8.20 AM last Wednesday, July 9th and dropped them back off at  12.15 PM that night. I haven't been the same since.

     We walked into the entrance at exactly 10AM and exited at 10.50PM, driving out of the parking lot at 11.15PM. Though the park officially closes at 10, the CP law states that if you're in any line at 10, then you can proceed and drop to your death on that particular ride, regardless of how long the line takes, and we were in the 45 minute line for the Titanic Hindenburg 10,000 at 9.45. In a nutshell, we went on 23 rides, only taking 2 "picnic at the car*" breaks. We evaluated every single roller coaster in the park after riding it and took in 1 indoor show. We only purchased 1 food item, frozen custard, and 1 cup of pop. We probably walked about 5 miles by my best estimate and nobody got sunburned, thankfully.
     According to trade journals and amusement park enthusiast clubs, CP is considered the best amusement park on the planet and has been since the late '90's when those organizations began bestowing that honor. It really is over the top and aside from the extraordinary prices it is a great time.
     What's that you ask? Prices? Oh... do let me tell...
     Working at the museum, I got discount entrance tickets. Normally 60.00, I got ours for 45.00 which isn't bad. But then, there's the 15.00 parking, 4.00 for each of the two custards which we shared and 4.00 for the kiddie sized cup of pop. We figured out that the food prices in the park are roughly 3-4 X what they are outside the park, in the real world, or at least, Northern Ohio real world anyhow. (And for that ridiculous sum, the quality of the food isn't great. I find it greasy, and not in a good way and overly unhealthy, also, not in a good way. The custard is wonderful, though. That's why I wanted some. It's the world's best.) Being adults, we needed no souvenirs; so we didn't have to deal with that cost, thank heavens. God help budget-minded, middle-class parents when taking their little tykes to a place like this. Well, they simply can't do it.

     Overall, The ticket cost is somewhat reasonable, particularly if one can be had by the multitude of available discounts. But food and extraneous costs are shocking, so should be avoided at all costs. No pun intended.
     Concerning the rides: more fun than a barrel of monkeys. There are rides for all levels of fear: Cowardly Lion to Schwarzenegger and everything in between. Children's rides abound as do carnival-style games of skill and chance - another money killer which I avoid but I know some people like. There's also the petting zoo and numerous Broadway style shows. Plus, for the extra fee!, a water park and a couple of additional rides are adjacent to the park. There are enough things to do to last two days or even more. Which is why many choose to stay in one of the adjacent hotels and purchase a two day pass.
    Cedar Point is truly world class. Go sometime. My rating 10/10.



*My picnic cooler included:
freshly sliced:
roast beef
sliced pastrami
sandwich style pepperoni
honey-baked turkey
***
freshly sliced:
extra sharp cheddar
colby jack
swiss
***
1 pint of boiled shrimp
***
2 fresh loaves of bread:
challah
rye with seeds
***
1 quart of my homemade cole slaw
1 quart of my spicy, Mexican baked beans (I need to write that recipe in this blog sometime)
1 pint of olive medley (jumbo blue cheese stuffed, kalamata, pimiento-stuffed)

I pint of tomatoes - small heirloom variety)
1 pound of baby carrots
***

mayo
deli style mustard
steak sauce
shrimp sauce
***
2 pounds of fresh cherries
1 quart of dried fruit
1 quart of deluxe mixed nuts
***
2 bottles each:
Frosty brand root beer
Frosty brand blue cream soda
Goya brand ginger beer
Mexican-made Coca Cola (Mexican is made with cane sugar, not high fructose corn syrup)
***   
1 pound of peanut brittle
***
     I spread the blanket out on the ground between my car and the neighboring one. Then, I propped up a large umbrella and balanced it on the 2 corresponding side view mirrors, for shade.  Ms. Stewart herself couldn't have done finer, if I must say so myself.