Cedar Point is America’s Roller Coast! Dorky but true.?For each of the past 22 years, I’ve spent an August day there with approximately 40,000 of my fellow citizens. Since my in-laws live nearby, Cedar Point is part of the magic of our Annual Family Reunion. (You can read a 2013 blogpost?about roller coasters here.)
This year I was lucky enough to be able to go off-season, during a HalloWeekend.
What fun to be in the park when it was cool and dark!?The decorations were abundant and inventive. Some decorations were classy, such as dinosaurs constructed from gourds. Some decorations were funny, such as tombstones for the rides which have been retired. Most decorations were plenty creepy, as Halloween decorations should be, without being overly gory. There were a lot of fog machines going, and some very effective lighting. It wasn’t all perfect, but it was great.
My daughter and I clutched each other’s hands as we walked through two outdoor Scare Zones and two indoor Haunted Houses. We especially enjoyed “Eerie Estate” which had a Victorian mansion theme and was really well-executed.?Here’s the Map.
We watched two live shows, each featuring 8 or 9 talented young people singing and dancing. “The Edge of Madness” was a basic rock and roll medley (think cruise ship), but in the intimate venue of an old-time saloon. This picture was taken from the balcony, where we had a great view of the performers interacting with the audience:
We also rode seven rides, three of which were major roller coasters. I love the Gatekeeper but nothing beats Millennium Force, the greatest roller coaster in the world (in my opinion!). The?Skyhawk is our favorite non-coaster. It’s a giant swing that goes so high your spine is horizontal to the ground at the apex of the swing. Yikes! When your nose is toward the ground, that ground comes at you fast!
We ended the night with a spin on Cedar Downs Racing Derby, the racing horse carousel. Then we split an Elephant Ear, tearing the hot dough into pieces and spilling sugar on our clothes. We went home after midnight, tired, sticky and footsore.