Porter Summer Tour - Cedar Point Amusement Park

After leaving Kirtland we drove about an hour and a half to Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio. When we were planning the trip Dan had the foresight to do some research into amusement parks in NY or Ohio. He knew that we would all need a change of pace in our church history trip. So, he found three options and had Bailey (who loves to research things) look them over in detail on the computer and make a recommendation.  Well, once she compared the parks it was clear that everything paled in comparison to Cedar Point.  This amusement park had the most to offer by far, including 17 amazing rollercoasters and zillions of other rides for people of all ages and bravery levels. Cedar Point was a little out of our way, but we decided it was worth it.

We paid a premium to stay in the on-site Hotel Breakers, which  has been at that site for 100 years!  Historic or not, it was a barely adequate room at a really steep price. BUT, it was just steps away from the park, and that was great. This hotel room (like all of our hotels) had a microwave and fridge, so we ate a lot of our meals in the room, avoiding the expensive amusement park food.

Our first day in the park was my 41st birthday. It was the perfect way to celebrate my birthday:
1.  With my family - my favorite people to hang out with
2.  Doing something adventurous (and WOW - the rollercoasters were the definition of adventurous!)
3.  Traveling - which is one of my favorite things to do!

In honor of my birthday, I rode every single rollercoaster, even ones which were crazy scary. It was awesome!

Cedar Point has the #1 rated steel rollercoaster in the world - Millennium Force.  It was the best coaster I have ever been on.  The first climb in 310 feet, and then it dives to the ground at an 80 degree angle. And that's just the beginning. The entire ride is 2 1/2 minutes of pure fun. A picture doesn't nearly do it justice. Below, Aubrey and I after riding the rollercoaster. Aubrey LOVES any scary, crazy, wild ride. She is even more adventurous than me - she could have gone on one rollercoaster after another without a break. After awhile even I needed a little "breather" before the next thrill.

Another favorite: Raptor.  Bailey isn't a huge fan of rollercoasters, but she rode this one and gave it a thumbs-up.  It was one of my favorites also. Dan, who is pretty adventurous with rides, wasn't a fan of the many corkscrews and upside down flips.  His equilibrium was off for awhile afterward!

 

And then, a totally crazy, wild ride:  The Top Thrill Dragster.  You really have to experience this one to understand, but basically you take off and immediately reach 120 mph. Before you know it, you are launched straight up a 420 foot tower.  At the very top, just before plunging straight down in a corkscrew dive, the ride pauses for just a second, and you are hanging suspended in air, only held in by your lap belt/bar.  Oh yeah - it was terrifying and awesome!

And, lastly, the scariest ride I have ever been on was the Wicked Twister. Once was enough for me.

This is what Cedar Point says about the ride: "Wicked Twister is the tallest and fastest double-twisting impulse coaster in the world. Located right on the sandy Cedar Point Beach, Wicked Twister launches riders back and forth and into two, 450-degree twists at each end of the track.  Riders are sent to new heights in fun while suspended below the track with their feet dangling."  I say again: terrifying. But I did it anyway!

Luckily, there were plenty of  rides that Joseph loved as well. The theme of the park is "Peanuts." It's cute and well done - but it's funny that our kids really aren't familiar with the Peanuts/Snoopy gang. In fact, they have always thought the Charlie Brown videos are boring. Dan and I disagree, of course, but that might be because we are products of the 1980s!

Joseph was nervous about going on a "real rollercoaster."  At Cedar Point they have a cute little rollercoaster called Gemini Junior. He worked up his courage and agreed to ride it if I would ride with him. Notice the very worried smile.

The verdict - it was great! He rode is again at least 3 or 4 more times before we left the park.

Other favorites of Joseph - driving the antique cars and any "spinny" ride.

Bailey was very patient about going with Joseph on every little kid ride. Thanks Bailey!

And Aubrey provided transportation back to the hotel when 6-year-old legs just gave out.

The flowers throughout Cedar Point were really beautiful. I forgot to take a picture during the day, but the grounds were meticulously maintained.

At night there was a light show with big light up Snoopy figures.

Finally, we got them where we want them!

We enjoyed really great weather for most of our vacation.Cedar Point, in particular, is right on Lake Erie, so there was a nice breeze blowing most of the time.

Until our last (of three) days in the park.  The day started with a thunderstorm, and then it heated up to 95 degrees, with about 90 degrees humidity. We Pacific Northwesterners didn't know what to make of the Midwest heat and humidity. We limped around the park like a pack of wet noodles, until we finally left and slept in the hotel for the afternoon. We returned after the sun was going down and said our goodbyes to a super fun amusement park which we likely won't ever see again.