Cedar Point...America's Roller Coast!

Back in northern Indiana, we don't have a ton of amusement parks to choose from.  There's Indiana Beach, but it's small and very country.  If you're looking for thrills, there's King's Island down by Cincinnati, OH or Cedar Point, up in Sandusky, OH.  For some reason, my family has picked Cedar Point as our vacation spot since before I was born.  I've been to Cedar Point every year I've been alive (so 23) except for two years in there.  There were many years that I went more than once, due to school trips and the occasional October Halloweekends trip.  This past weekend, we went to Cedar Point for this year's trip.  I invited a few friends who hadn't been to Cedar Point before or who hadn't been in a long time.  I realized how many family Cedar Point traditions we have, and how much we have learned about the park via our trips.

Because we have these traditions, it makes us feel closer as a family.  It's really just the simple things.  We always stay in Hotel Breakers at Cedar Point on the shore of Lake Eerie.

There are some great advantages to staying at a Cedar Point resort.  They are a little pricey, I'm going to warn you.  However, they are all nice hotels.  You're staying right there near the park, so when it's busy in the middle of the day and you're hot, you can go back to your room, grab lunch, hit the pool, and go back into the park.  As a resort guest, you get into Cedar Point an hour earlier than everyone else.  Time to ride the big rides like Maverick and Millennium with little to no wait!  Guests can buy park tickets at the resorts cheaper than anywhere else ($29.99 for a one-day ticket).  If you're going to CP for more than a day, the hotels are great.


We've had some great fun at Breakers.  We always eat at the T.G.I.Friday's the first night we get there and have one big meal all together.  My parents pay and spend an obscene amount of money for our dinners and drinks, now that we all can drink alcohol.  The past few years, we set up the dressers for beer pong in the room and get my parents to play, which is highly amusing if you know my mom, who is not coordinated in any way, shape, or form.  One year, a friend brought an air horn with him and would stick it into random rooms, blow it, and run.  Yes, I realize that's immature and such, but it was ridiculously funny at the time.  We've jumped on beds, broken coffeemakers, and annoyed each other by turning on and off TVs in opposite rooms.  Ahh, the memories. ;)

Cedar Point has changed a lot since we first started going.  The prices are ridiculous, so don't be stunned. It's an amusement park after all!  I recommend bringing lunch meats and snacks, as well as bottled water and pop, to save a little cash.  We like to snack a little in the park on traditional "fair foods" such as elephant ears, funnel cakes, corn dogs, and cheese-on-a-sticks, but we share with each other.  One of the best values in the park is the $6 BBQ turkey leg you can find in frontier land.  It's huge and feeds 2!

Turkey Leg Awesomeness from 2010.

Other tips:  Ride the big rides first thing in the morning or late at night.  People tend to go into the park by the Raptor and work their way back to Frontier Land and the Maverick, so go opposite the flow.  I've found that water rides are never a good thing, unless you go into the park specifically for them.  Backpacks/sunglasses are NOT allowed on Millennium or Top Thrill, and there are no bins to put them in, so rent a locker or plan accordingly.  As long as you get in line for a ride before the park closes, they will run you through.  Best times to go: Weekdays in May, early June, later August as well as Halloweekend Fridays and Sundays.  Sometimes, there's just going to be a lot of lines.  We just pick the rides we think are worth the lines and deal.  

Me and my pretty amazing Mom, little bro Andrew, and Dad in 2009 (Top Thrill in background)

The older I get, the more thankful I am for the 3-4 days we would go to Cedar Point every year.  It's so full of memories now that I get to relive every time we go.

Until next time...

jessica.eae