Cedar Point

Cedar Point Amusement Park is a 364-acre amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio on one of the North Coast Beaches overlooking Lake Erie. It is often billed as the "World's Largest Amusement Park", and draws visitors from throughout Ohio and surrounding states. It was voted the best amusement park in the world for 16 consecutive years by Amusement Today.

Understand
Cedar Point is one of the oldest continuously operating amusement parks, having begun in the year 1870 as a beach resort on the shore of Lake Erie. Today it covers 364 acres and is home to some of the tallest, fastest roller coasters in the world, including Top Thrill 2 and Millennium Force. Altogether it has more than 70 rides. It is a must for any serious thrillseeker out there, offering the second most roller coasters found in a single amusement park (17 altogether, and second to Six Flags Magic Mountain with 19). Although its primary attraction is the assortment of coasters, the park has rides and other attractions, including flat rides, kiddie rides, water rides, a traditional arcade, and musical shows. The park also offers access to a lovely beach on Lake Erie—something which has been attracting visitors since the park's inception.

Cedar Point Shores is an outdoor water park and part of Cedar Point, but not included in the general admission.

You can easily spend a full day at Cedar Point. If you plan to take in all the attractions, you should buy the two-day "Ride and Slide" ticket and spread your enjoyment of Cedar Point Shores and Cedar Point over two days. If you are coming on a busy day (weekends especially in the summer), make sure to plan time to wait in line, as some lines such as Millennium Force, Maverick, Top Thrill Dragster, and Valravn can be up to two hours.

By car
Sandusky is between Cleveland and Toledo. Once you get to Sandusky, just follow the signs to Cedar Point; the causeway is a toll road ($0.50 toll is included in the cost of parking). Cedar Point can also be accessed via the Chaussee, a two-lane road which connects to Cleveland Road a few miles east of Sandusky.
 * On the Ohio Turnpike (I-80):
 * Take Exit 118 and follow the signs north on US 250
 * Take Exit 110 and follow Route 4 north.
 * On OH-2:
 * Take Exit 142 and follow US 6 west.
 * Take Exit 138 and follow the signs on US 250.

There is a designated drop-off area. The vehicle must pay the full parking fee as they enter. However, if you tell the toll booth cashier that you are dropping off or picking up guests, and depart within 30 minutes, you will be given a full refund, minus the $0.50 causeway toll.

By private boat
Cedar Point has two large marinas on Lake Erie. The Cedar Point Marina allows daily slip rentals for $25 per day; it and the Castaway Bay Marina also offer seasonal dockage.

By train
Amtrak serves the city of Sandusky with daily service from points east and west.

Admission and discounts
Cedar Point's 2016 admission prices are as follows:


 * Cedar Point Regular: One day for guests ages 3-61, $$ and taller in shoes. $65
 * Cedar Point Junior or Senior: One day for guests under 48 in tall in shoes or age 62 and over. $39.99
 * Ride & Slide 2-Day: Ages 3-61, 48 in and taller. Admission to Cedar Point and Soak City for any two regular season days. $89.99
 * Ride & Slide 2-Day Junior/Senior: Guests under 48 in tall or age 62 and over. Admission to Cedar Point and Soak City for any two regular season days. $58
 * Cedar Point Shores Regular: One day for guests ages 3-61, 48 in and taller in shoes. $35.99
 * Cedar Point Shores Junior or Senior: One day for guests under 48| in tall in shoes or age 62 and over. $21.99
 * Rock & Ride: One day at Cedar Point, and one voucher for admission to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. $66.50
 * Rock, Rides & Football: One day at Cedar Point, and one voucher for admission to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, and one voucher for admission to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. $88.15
 * Children age 2 and under are admitted free to Cedar Point and Cedar Point Shores.
 * Cedar Point F-Su after 4PM: $41.99
 * Cedar Point M-Th after 4PM: $39.99
 * Active or retired military personnel (with valid identification) and immediate family members. $43
 * Daily parking per vehicle: $15 for regularly-sized vehicles, $20 for vehicles taking up more than one space, $25 preferred parking
 * Season Pass for unlimited admission during the 2016 season to Cedar Point $132. A Platinum Pass for $204 or $150 for guests under 48 in tall or age 62 and over provides unlimited admission to all Cedar Fair amusement parks and outdoor water parks for the entire season.

Other discounted admissions

 * Resort guests: for guests of any of the hotels on Cedar Point property.
 * American Automobile Association (AAA) offices sell discount Cedar Point tickets for their members. Showing an AAA card at the gate will not get you a discount.
 * Meijer stores, Discount Drug Mart stores, and some credit unions, sell discounted tickets.
 * Online deals: Discount tickets are available for purchase at cedarpoint.com. Special deals are also announced on Facebook and through the park's email newsletter.

Get around
Because its size is constrained by surrounding Lake Erie and its own parking lots, Cedar Point is pretty tightly packed, so you can get around pretty easily on foot throughout the park. In addition, two of the more tranquil rides offer a means to get around the park itself.


 * The Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad includes four coal-fired steam trains that delivers guests between two stations towards the back of the park. Enjoy the "wild west" show during your ride.
 * The Sky Ride carries passengers over the main midway, from the entrance towards the center of the park or back.

See
New for 2016: The world's tallest, fastest, and longest dive coaster, Valravn. Also a new Glass Academy, Frontier Inn restaurant, Coca-Cola Oasis, and day or season photo program.

Over 70 rides - including 17 roller coasters, Peanuts-themed children's ride areas, Dinosaurs Alive! (extra-charge attraction), nightly show Luminosity (starts in June), and water park.

Cedar Point is on a peninsula surrounded by Lake Erie, and has a few beaches you can access and see the lake directly from.

The centerpiece of the park's Lighthouse Point camping park is the Cedar Point Lighthouse, which was built in 1862 and is the oldest existing structure on the peninsula.

Do
Cedar Point has a world-record 71 rides, including roller coasters, thrill rides, water rides, children's rides, and an adjacent waterpark. It also has a mile-long beach open to the public.

The park assigns most rides a Thrill rating ranging from 1 (low thrill) to 5 (aggressive thrill). The park provides these ratings under the ride listings on their website.

Fast Lane
Fast Lane, introduced at Cedar Point in 2012, is a secondary queue system that offers shorter wait times on the park's most popular rides. In addition to the standard admission charge, visitors can bypass the standard wait line by purchasing a wrist band that grants access to the Fast Lane queue. A limited number of wrist bands are sold each day. The two options available for purchase are "Fast Lane" and "Fast Lane Plus". The standard Fast Lane offers access to 24 attractions, while Fast Lane Plus covers the same rides and adds Top Thrill Dragster, GateKeeper, Maverick, and Valravn.

Cedar Point offers a Halloween-themed version of Fast Lane called Fright Lane with Skeleton Key, available during HalloWeekends. In addition to Fast Lane access, this version provides priority access to haunted attractions within the park. It also includes a key that provides access to a secret room in each haunted attraction.

Cedar Point's 2016 Fast Lane prices are as follows:
 * Cedar Fair Fast Lane availability icon.svg Fast Lane: One day Fast Lane access to 24 rides and attractions. $60-99, depending on day
 * Cedar Fair Fast Lane Plus availability icon.svg Fast Lane Plus: One day Fast Lane access to 24 rides and attractions, Top Thrill Dragster, GateKeeper, Maverick, and Valravn. $80-149, depending on day

Carousels

 * Midway Carousel - Built in 1912, the Midway Carousel is one of the few Daniel Muller carousels in existence today. Its long history also makes it the oldest operating ride at Cedar Point. The Midway Carousel was originally carved for John J. Hurley of Revere Beach, Mass. Later, the machine was bought by the Holzapfel family of Sandusky, who operated the carousel at Cedar Point from 1946 until the park bought it in 1963.
 * Kiddy Kingdom Carousel - Located in the center of Cedar Point’s Kiddy Kingdom, this 1925 carousel is a fine example of the craftsmanship of the William H. Dentzel firm of Philadelphia. With 52 animals (16 standing and 36 jumping) and two chariots, the Kiddy Kingdom Carousel is one of Dentzel’s personal favorites.
 * Cedar Downs Racing Derby - Sixty-four horses race around the track on the Cedar Downs Racing Derby, one of only two racing derby rides in the U.S. The carousel was built in 1920 by Prior and Church and was brought to Cedar Point in 1967. The machine was built for the Humphrey Company of Euclid Beach near Cleveland. Also known as the Great American Racing Derby, the ride ran at Euclid Beach for 47 years. Although a few changes have been made, the ride is still housed in its original structure. The ride features an immense turntable with a 90-foot diameter that revolves as the ride begins. The four-abreast horses move back and forth producing a racing effect. The momentum of the ride increases until it reaches a speed of approximately 15 mph.

Other attractions

 * Dinosaurs Alive!
 * Extreme Sports Stadium
 * Jack Aldrich Theatre
 * Luminosity: Ignite the Night (takes place at the Celebration Plaza Stage)
 * Palace Theatre
 * Red Garter Saloon

Cedar Point Shores
A separately-gated outdoor water park adjacent to Cedar Point. Like Cedar Point, owned by Cedar Fair.

Eat
The park has many food concessions operated by the park, including stands selling walking-around snacks and restaurants where you can sit and rest a short while. All are very fast-food oriented, with limited menus, and prices geared for a semi-captive market of visitors unwilling to endure the time-consuming hassle of driving back to the city just to get a meal. However, there are also several restaurants in the immediate vicinity of the park and fairly convenient to get to with a free park re-entry stamp, but these are also on the pricey side, for the same reason. Budget conscious visitors may be better served by picking up food at a grocery, storing it in a car, then use a free reentry stamp to picnic outside the park.

Drink
Beer and wine coolers are sold at various restaurants in the park, with a policy of two drinks per valid driver's license or state photo ID (to prevent friends buying for their under-21 friends). The out-of-park restaurants generally have full bars and typical alcohol-sales requirements.

Sleep
The city of Sandusky has numerous hotels and motels catering to Cedar Point visitors.



Work
Cedar Point hires over 4000 seasonal employees from all across the US and beyond every year; about 2500 live at Cedar Point in employee housing. Actors and musicians in particular can find gainful work in their field (entertainment-related jobs are offered via auditions). While the wages aren't great, the park offers its workers a choice of subsidized dormitory accommodation and meals, and many opportunities for extra hours, so it is possible to save quite a bit of money over the course of the summer. With so many young people working there, as well as perks like free access to the park and other special events, Cedar Point can be a fun way to work over the summer.

Go next

 * Milan Birthplace of Thomas A. Edison, inventor.
 * The city of Sandusky has some attractions of its own, including two other water slide parks. During the summertime there is an active night life scene.
 * About southwest of Cedar Point, the Seneca Caverns, located near the small town of Bellevue beckon those interested in caves.  Bellevue itself has small town charm as well as a historic district and a railway museum.
 * The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, at North Coast Harbor in Cleveland, is a distinctive building designed by noted architect I.M. Pei that houses a massive collection of rock and roll memorabilia.
 * The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, is the world's largest collection of pro-football memorabilia. It also features the Lamar Hunt Super Bowl Gallery and Super Bowl Theater.

The Cedar Park won the award for Best Park by Amusement Today for 16 years up until 2013. Every year since, that award has gone to Europa-Park so perhaps that should be next on your list, if you haven't been already.