cedar point Archives - A Mommy Story

How’s your summer going so far? Summer camp started for us this week (for real this time!), so the kids are now occupied during the week while I work in peace at home. Aaron has started his new job as well, and so far after day two it’s still going very well.

We’re already planning out what we’d like to do with our weekends for the next two and a half months. I’ll be traveling to Chicago for BlogHer in July, Aaron has some superhero appearances for charity, and we have a 5K this coming weekend. That still leaves several weekends open for us.

The topic of Cedar Point and Lake Erie has come up several times in our discussions. We were thrilled to attend an early-season event at Cedar Point in May, where we discovered Mira was finally tall enough to ride the big rides, including her first upside-down coaster. The entire family loves Cedar Point – even Cordy, who is terrified of roller coasters, can still name several rides that she adores in Camp Snoopy.

It’s nearly impossible to see and do it all in a single day, so when Mira asks, “When can we go back to Cedar Point?” it’s fair to consider going back again this summer, if only to seek out the things we didn’t have time for in May, and maybe return to a few favorite attractions as well.

Beyond all of the “usual” (if you can call anything at Cedar Point usual) fun, they have some additional events planned for the Fourth of July weekend. There will be an all-you-can-eat Picnic at the Point all weekend long, July 4-7, from 4-6 p.m. on each day. One price will provide all of the fried chicken, hot dogs, brats, potato salad, and baked beans you can eat – but make sure to leave room for ice cream, too! Sounds even better than our extended-family get-together for the Fourth. Maybe we should move our family celebration to Cedar Point instead?

And of course there has to be fireworks, right? On July 4, the nighttime sky will light up with a fantastic fireworks display starting at 10:30pm.

The holiday isn’t just about the food and fireworks, though. Cedar Point also wants to show our military men and women their appreciation for all they’ve done for us as well. Any active, retired or honorably-discharged member of the United States Armed Forces can receive one FREE regular admission ticket to Cedar Point or Soak City on either Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, July 4-7, 2013.

Valid forms of ID include Active Duty ID, Retired Personnel ID, VA ID, or a copy of DD-214 discharge papers and photo ID. Additional tickets can be purchased for spouse and children at normal military discount price of $39.99.

Giveaway!

Ready to try out the GateKeeper or one of the other amazing Cedar Point roller coasters for yourself?

I’m going to help get your summer started off right by giving away a family four pack of Cedar Point single-day tickets for one lucky reader!

For those who may not know, Cedar Point is in Sandusky, Ohio, right on Lake Erie. (I’ve heard you can see Canada from the top of the Millennium Force on a clear day.) It’s a great day trip for those in the Ohio-Michigan-N. Indiana areas, but even if you’re not in those areas, it can be a fun mini-vacation as well. There’s so much to do in and around Cedar Point that you could easily fill up 2-3 days.

To enter, complete the mandatory entry in the Rafflecopter widget below. (You may need to wait a moment for it to load.) Additional entries can be earned by completing the other activities, but they are entirely optional.

I’ll select a winner after June 26, giving you plenty of time to use your tickets before summer is over. Winner will be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to respond or an alternate winner will be selected. Tickets are good anytime during the 2013 Cedar Point operating season – check their website for days and hours of operation.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Full disclosure: Giveaway prize is provided by Cedar Point. No compensation was received for this post – my family genuinely loves Cedar Point and I was the one asking Cedar Point if I could help share the love.

There are some places we can visit over and over and still feel like it’s new and exciting every single time. Cedar Point is definitely one of those places. We made the trip to Sandusky last weekend (Cedar Point provided tickets for us) to see what’s new for 2013, and to revisit some of our old favorites.

Mira was especially hopeful that she had grown enough since last October to meet the 48″ requirement for many of the roller coasters. Last year she measured 46″ which only let her on one big coaster, the Iron Dragon.

The changes at Cedar Point start right when you get to the gate. They’ve completely remodeled the entrance now, partially to work in the newest coaster, the GateKeeper. It’s an impressive winged coaster – meaning the cars are attached to the track in the middle, but riders sit on either side on the “wings” of the coaster. There are two keyholes built into the towers around the new gate, and the GateKeeper coaster glides through each of those narrow keyholes, twisting at the last possible second to fit the arms and legs of it’s passengers safely through, and wowing visitors as they come up to the gate. It holds records for being the longest, fastest and tallest wing coaster. I can already tell you I love this coaster, and I haven’t even had a chance to ride it yet.

Yes, they have to turn sideways quickly to fit through that narrow tower over the main entrance to the park. It’s amazing to watch.

Our first stop was to get both kids measured for rides. You can do this right at the entrance and get a colored wrist band, avoiding any further waits in line to be measured again. Cordy was 54″ this time, allowing her to ride nearly everything in the park (allowing is different than wanting, though, and her anxiety kept her away from all coasters), and Mira let out a cheer when she was told she met the 48″ height requirement. She was the happiest kid ever to get her 48″ rider wristband.

Proudly showing off her red 48″ wristband.

The first ride for us has practically become a tradition now. Cedar Downs is always our first stop – it’s essentially a carousel, but it goes faster than most, and the horses “race” each other, with one in each row coming out ahead by the end of the ride. (The winner varies each time.) Cordy loves this ride, and Mira was thrilled to have her first experience with it.

Cordy on Cedar Downs: 2011, 2012, 2013 (with Aaron this time)

After that we had a quick lunch (full disclosure: lunch was provided by Cedar Point) and Aaron was so happy that Cedar Point is considerate of those with food allergies. He was able to eat a gluten-free pizza for lunch, with other gluten-free options available as well. If you need a gluten-free meal, try Joe Cool Cafe – they even have separate fryers for those who can’t have gluten but still want some french fries or gluten-free chicken tenders.

Mira then wanted to continue exploiting her new height to ride another 48″ or higher ride. Off to the Cedar Creek Mine Ride we went! Cordy used to love this ride, but her anxiety was too high, so she stayed back. Thankfully, Cedar Point offers a Parent Swap pass for this kind of situation. You can pick up a Parent Swap pass in the Guest Services office, good for one use on most of the larger rides.

Here’s how it works: one parent gets in line for the ride with their child, while the other parent does something else with the kid who doesn’t want to ride. Once the first parent and child get off the ride, they hand the Parent Swap pass to an attendant and go out the exit. The other parent can trade off and go up the exit ramp to get on the ride with no wait. Each parent gets to ride, and the child who wants to ride gets to do it twice. It’s a win-win.

Mira loved the Mine Ride! We tried the Gemini next, which was a little more scary for her. I’m glad she decided not to try Millennium Force quite yet. At this point we decided to dial back the adventure level a little and spend some time in Camp Snoopy, which is filled with rides for the younger set. (Although many allow adults to ride with their kids, too.) Cordy was a big fan of the Tilt-a-Whirl, and we rode that ride at least five times. Yes, I’m still dizzy.

Cordy and Mira took a few rides on the swings, too.

You can also meet Snoopy and his Peanuts friends in Camp Snoopy. Cordy couldn’t miss out on a hug.

We like playing the carnival games at Cedar Point, too, always coming home with some new stuffed animals to add to the family of plush creatures. Both kids like that Pokemon can often be found as prizes with some of the games, but Cordy set her sights higher this year:

Say it with me, folks: IT’S SO FLUFFY!

Near the end of the day, Mira got her courage back and asked to go on the Corkscrew. This roller coaster has three loops in it – I thought there was no way she’d want to go on a looping coaster. But she did, and she waited with Aaron patiently (although nervously) in line for the ride. Despite the wristband, they still checked her height again – she just barely clears 48″ and I think they were surprised a five year old wanted on the Corkscrew.

She did it, though – and she loved it! I know Mira is going to be a Cedar Point Ride Warrior as she gets older. She’s already asking how long it will take for her to be 52″ tall so she can ride Top Thrill Dragster, a ride that goes from zero to 120 miles-per-hour in four seconds. Maybe she can ride that one with her dad.

This is our third year in a row to go to Cedar Point, and we really appreciate how much there is to do in this amusement park. We love how many thrill rides are in this park, as well as plenty of family rides and in-between rides that are thrilling but not too scary. Our energy level ran out before we ran out of rides and attractions to visit – you can’t do it all in a day!

We’re a Cedar Point family!

Yes, we love Disney World and will always love Disney World, but Disney’s roller coasters can’t compare to the roller coasters at Cedar Point. And unlike Disney, Cedar Point is an Ohio theme park that’s easy to daytrip or take a short Ohio staycation at Lake Erie.

If you have the chance, get to Cedar Point to try the new GateKeeper this year, and then let me know how you liked it! I’m hoping we’ll visit again later this summer, perhaps with more adults in our group, so Aaron and I can take a ride on GateKeeper together!

Full disclosure: I was invited by Cedar Point to bring my family to the park for the day and received complimentary admission into the park and lunch. Mira’s blossoming Ride Warrior personality comes to her naturally – both of her parents love roller coasters!