I’ve been to Cedar Point. A sentence I never dreamed I’d be able to write, but here we are. I’ve actually visited America’s Roller Coast. And what a place it is.
Way back in the year of our lord 2021 – a lifetime ago, or so it feels – my friend Bobby dropped a simple question into the conversation: how the hell do you get to Cedar Point? Located on a peninsula in northern Ohio, hours and hours from any major transatlantic route, Cedar Point is not exactly easily accessible to British enthusiasts. Thus, a ludicrous road trip was born. Two weeks, thousands of miles, money I’m not even going to think about, all of it came about because of this ridiculous place. So would I say expectations for this park were high? Maybe just a little.
We left Kings Island late afternoon and began the 200 mile journey through the state of Ohio, up toward Sandusky. And let me tell you, once we were through Columbus, I’m not sure we saw anything but tiny town after tiny town. All of them the same, at least from the perspective of someone zooming through. We’d passed through wild open emptiness plenty on this trip, but this leg really drove home an understanding of what ‘Small Town America’ actually means. But I digress. By mid-evening we were pulling up at our first and only on-site accommodation of the trip. Cedar Point’s very own Castaway Bay.
Castaway Bay is a mid-range hotel – think ‘value’ but not ‘budget’ – located off-site, and off-peninsula, at the other end of Cedar Point Drive. The hotel was fresh from a large-scale overhaul for the 2022 season, so it seemed like the perfect chance to try it out. With accommodations in Sandusky coming up pretty pricey, and Castaway Bay offering a good-size family room that would meet our needs, it made sense for us on this occasion. Even if, as Cedar Fair Platinum Pass holders, we wouldn’t benefit from the hotel’s main perk, early entry. Nor would we have time to access the hotel’s very own waterpark, despite admission being included with our stay (your move Splash Landings!) Whilst I didn’t use enough of the hotel’s amenities to justify a full hotel review on the blog, I can say we had an excellent stay! The rooms were very comfy, clean and fresh, with great amenities and gorgeous common areas. The lobby also had all sorts of fun things for kids to do – I loved the ‘learn to knot’ station! It was just generally a very nice place to be. Would I stay again? Probably not. With long park hours and little time to enjoy the hotel, a motel would do just fine. But, if I did a longer stay at Cedar Point I’d definitely consider it. Castaway Bay also suffers massively from not offering any transportation to the theme park. Whilst not an issue for us, it’s definitely something a resort hotel should be offering. Particularly when the theme park is not walkable.
My favourite thing of all at the hotel? Room 1B.Cool for Ophelia the Octopus. That’s the skirting board in the background!
But enough of theme-park-adjacent content, let’s talk about the main event: Cedar Point itself. Whilst I was excited about the rides – especially one particular hybrid coaster – the park itself didn’t actually hold a lot of fascination for me. I’m a theming girl after all. I happily visit, and enjoy, amusement parks just as much as I visit theme parks, but theming is what truly makes me fall in love. Thus, I was sure Cedar Point just wouldn’t quite be able to fully win me over. A fantastic collection of rides in an alright park was the expectation. How wrong I was!
So where to start with Cedar Point? There’s only one answer isn’t there? I’m just going to go right in and talk about what was for me – and a very large number of my fellow coaster enthusiasts – the main draw of this park: Steel Vengeance.
I really do try and manage my expectations for rides. I mean, it never goes too well, I’m just too excitable a person, but I do try. However, when it came to this particular rollercoaster, there was absolutely nothing to be done. Consistently ranking as the best coaster on earth in just about every major poll and award, this thing has a serious reputation. The sort of reputation that has you travelling halfway across the world to ride it.
Thankfully, in my opinion, that reputation is wholly earned. Vengeance reportedly generates the most airtime of any coaster, and my god do you feel each and every one of those 27.2 seconds in the air. You are pummelled, repeatedly thrown between lap bar and seat like some kind of rag doll. Particularly in the back. Wow, those back-row rides. Getting whipped through several zero-g rolls, whilst passing through the support structure with what felt like barely enough clearance was one of the wildest feelings I’ve had on a coaster and I loved every second. Like other RMC coasters, Steel Vengeance manages to deliver in almost every possible regard, without ever being excessively intense. You could easily lap this thing all day long – and what a day! For me, the only flaw in the entire coaster was the mid-course brake run. Whilst the rest of the ride was impeccably paced, it felt to me as if this pause was a beat too long. But it was still a lot of fun. On each of my rides, the entire train used these brakes as a moment to catch up with their riding companions and process what had just happened, gasping and laughing. Whilst my first ride wasn’t sufficient to overtake Zadra in my coaster rankings – that zero-G stall is still a strong contender for my favourite element on any coaster – after a couple of back-row rides and a life-changing front-row night ride, Steel Vengeance did indeed find it’s way to my number one spot. It’s impossible to overstate the power that this coaster’s location has. Rising up that lift hill and overlooking the beach and the rest of the park is stunning, but at night it’s almost tear-inducing, it’s so beautiful. Night rides always elevate the experience, but the setting here made our ride even more special.
Steel Vengeance is smooth, it’s wild, it’s relentless and it utilises every second of ride time – with the brief exception of the mid-course brake run – to its full advantage. A masterpiece in rollercoaster design.
Not far from Steel Vengeance sits what is arguably the other headline attraction in a park full of legendary rollercoasters, Maverick. (Or ‘The Maverick’ as everyone in the park seemed to be calling it!) Maverick is an Intamin LSM launch coaster that feels like an advertisement for everything this ride type is capable of. If you love getting whipped from one direction to another, this is sure the ride for you. For me? Well, my exact words immediately after riding were ‘that was absolutely incredible, I loved it, and I never want to ride it again.’ For me, it was simply too whippy. My neck isn’t built for this!
I went in to Maverick knowing nothing. I’m not really sure how I managed this, I guess I was just focused on Steel Vengeance, but all I knew was that this was a very good ride and I absolutely had to ride it. So, safe to say I was pretty darn unprepared for what was about to happen. The first sign that his was a pretty unusual ride should have been the LSM lift hill. Or maybe the 3 car trains – thankfully they have six! It’s just an extraordinary rollercoaster. But anyway, the ride starts with an LSM lift hill. I’ve never been a massive fan of launched lift hills as it often seems a waste of momentum, and here was no different. Sure, the 100ft drop was a whole lot of fun, and it was certainly great speeding up the hill, but when I reached the bottom I found myself disappointed in the lack of momentum. This was something I’d come to regret very soon, as I had no idea about the second launch. That launch was pure madness. In particular, being able to see the tight bend it was leading into, knowing what was about to happen and being utterly powerless to stop it. I tried my very best to prepare for that bend, but even leaning into it could not prepare me for the whip around that corner. So this is where the ‘never again’ part comes in. The rest of the ride is very low to the ground and filled with wild transitions and honestly? This ride was simply too much for my neck. Those changes of direction were fun, but definitely at the limit of what my muscles could handle without injury. But for all of you with stronger necks than me, this is one hell of a ride! It’s so fun and so unique that it makes me want to get to the gym and beef up just to ride it again. Of course, this is all dependent on the ride itself being operational. Of every park we visited across this USA road trip, this was the least reliable ride of the entire thing, with just short bursts of operation between extended periods of downtime. Only on our third time in line did we make it to the end, and that’s not counting all the times we walked up and were turned away. Though we didn’t go to ride on day two, by the time we reached the back of the park the ride was already being evacuated and I didn’t see it operating again after that. I even spoke to a ride attendant to ask if it was always this way, or if the ride was simply having a rough few days and he told me this was pretty standard. So if it’s open, get in line and ride!
Across our group, we managed to get all coasters in the park done (except Wilderness Run, anyone got a kid I can borrow?) but personally, I skipped Gemini, Blue Streak and Corkscrew. As someone with a problematic back and neck, I’m very lucky to have friends who are a little more resilient and if they say something is rough, it’s a straight no from me, at least on a trip like this where I need to be pacing myself!
The highlights from the rest of the coaster line-up for me were Millennium Force and Magnum XL-200. Both of these took me by complete surprise with how wild they were. I know this is nothing but naivety on my part, but I didn’t appreciate just how mad it was possible for rides of that age to be. Starting with Millenium Force, I wandered into the station relatively unfazed. I’d done a few 300-foot drops at this point, what was another? Then I strapped into my barely-more-substantial-than-a-camping-chair seat, pulled down the minuscule lap bar and the ride op announced that we were about to travel at 93 miles per hour. What?! I mean, in hindsight, of course a 300ft drop is going to result in travelling at that kind of speed. I simply wasn’t ready to be so exposed whilst doing so. Safe to say, that lift hill made me feel the fear. But, this was wild in a good way. An amazing way. How a 22-year-old ride could take those speeds so gracefully is amazing to me. There was not an ounce of roughness to it. I was laughing, and whooping the whole way through. And those views! Pure exhilarating joy.
Then there’s Magnum XL-200. Bloody hell. I was blessed to have so many new-to-me experiences on this trip, including this: the most-I-have-ever-feared-for-my-life-on-a-coaster experience. Whilst my screams on coasters these days are almost always from fun, my screams here were pure instinctual terror. This ride brought out something visceral in me. At this point, it had only been a month since my first ride on the other operational Arrow Hyper Coaster, The Big One, and I’m sure you’ll forgive me for saying that after the ridiculously wild first drop, there’s not much intimidating about that ride. Now take the intensity of The Big One’s drop and extend it throughout the entire runtime of the ride. Throw in some of the most insane airtime I’ve ever experienced, tunnels where you have no idea at all what is happening, some obscene profiling and a location right on the shores of Lake Erie and you’ve got a ridiculous, ridiculous ride. The lap bar was so, so, small and the way we were thrown repeatedly into it with a thigh-crushing force made me feel it was only so long before my thighs broke through. I screeched, I screamed, I swore. Safe to say, I was shaking on the way out of the station. This was one of the most memorable ride experiences of my life, and one of my favourites of the trip. I know this can be a bit of a love/hate coaster, but I am firmly on team love. Maybe with a second ride that would change? But for now, all I’ve got is that perfect first ride, one I’ll never forget.
Another unexpected hit of the park for me was Iron Dragon, an Arrow suspended coaster, still using the old bucket-like trains. Had it not had that connection to Vampire back in the UK, I’d have considered skipping this ride, given how strange and uncomfortable it appears from off-ride, but I’m so glad I didn’t! Sure, it’s not super thrilling, though the second half houses a very fun helix, but the novelty of the vehicles and impressively smooth ride experience made for a good time. Having never gotten to experienced The Vampire, I’m very pleased to have finally experienced one of the older Arrow trains!
The B&M’s were all a lot of fun, but none were particularly stand-outs for me. I’d happily ride them all again though, except perhaps Rougarou which was a stick-your-neck-out-to-protect-your-head job. I simply cannot comprehend how awful it must have been as a stand-up. Raptor had quite possibly my favourite colour scheme on an invert, those lime green and purple trains were beaut, and Gatekeeper of course gets points for it’s domination of the park’s entrance plaza. It was extremely fun to fly through those gates, but I’ve still yet to find a wing coaster that has any moment that can match The Swarm’s first drop. Valravn too was a ride I very much enjoyed, and would always hope to ride on a visit to the park, but has certainly been done better elsewhere.
By the time we got around to riding the railroad on day two, I’d have happily sat on any calm ride that let me rest my feet awhile but I’m happy to say that the Cedar Point and Lake Erie Railroad was absolutely delightful. There are two stations running between the central midway and Frontiertown (right next to Steel Vengeance) so it’s actually very useful for moving around the park too – a surprisingly rare thing! The two legs of the journey are quite different, with the trip from the midway to Frontiertown offering stunning up-close views over Lake Erie and of many of the coasters on this side of the park, particularly Millenium Force and Maverick. The other leg doesn’t offer as much in the way of natural views but does have an excellent collection of fun and quirky dioramas featuring a whole town of skeleton animatronics and featuring both water and fire effects. This really did delight me, as something the park very much did not have to do but went ahead and did anyway, making it a firm favourite amongst theme park railroads! A whole loop of the track is very much recommended.
Another must-do for when you’re feeling utterly worn down and just need a break from rollercoasters, the Barnyard was absolutely delightful and filled with adorable animals. Guests are even able to enter the pygmy goat paddock and get up close and personal with these beautiful animals. If you fancy, you can also pay $5 for some food and hand feed the animals. The Barnyard was home to alpacas, rabbits, goats, camels, pigs, cows, ducks, llamas and probably even more that I’ve forgotten and I spent far more time than I expected getting to know these wonderful animals. This was something I really didn’t expect to see somewhere like Cedar Point and really helped me fall in love with the park.
Cedar Point has some of the most varied food I’ve seen in an amusement park, with a variety of stands and table service restaurants across the park. My most-anticipated was the dedicated vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free quick-service restaurant (the first I’ve seen in any park, outside of food carts) Wild Turnip. Of course, I made it a mission of mine to make sure this was the first place I ate, which made it all the sadder that it was the worst of all the food I ate at the park, by quite a margin. The Power Salad sounded fantastic on paper with a diverse and long list of fresh ingredients. I could see the vegetables being freshly chopped in the background – encouraging stuff – but sadly, the salad seemed to be mostly full of very bitter leaves and the bits you’d usually throw out or find another use for such as kale ribs and lettuce stalk. With none of the dedicated vinegarette available, the kitchen had used lime juice instead to dress the meal. The combination of sour lime and bitter leaves was just too much. Even drowning it all in ranch sauce couldn’t save it. Heartbreaking.
Happily, our next meal was an enormous improvement in every way but health credentials. Melt is a chain of table-service restaurants with a location inside the park. They offer a wide selection of different grilled cheese sandwiches, but this is grilled cheese taken to the next level. Across the menu, there were potentially the most vegetarian options I’ve ever seen within a theme park and I actually struggled to choose – a big change from my usual order of ‘whatever’s vegetarian!’ My mushroom melt was piled high with garlic mushrooms, swiss cheese and spinach, served alongside some incredible fries. Warning: these portions are enormous. Unless you’ve got a serious appetite, half a sandwich is plenty! There were even plenty of options for vegans, so unless you’re rushing to get everything done (our meal took about an hour including waiting for a table) I can’t recommend enough!
Whilst theming was not the main focus of this park, Frontiertown – and particularly the Frontier Trail – offered some seriously impressive theming, in a shady and relaxing area of the park. This was hands down my favourite area, and was where I found myself heading every time I needed a break from the action, with seating and shade aplenty. The Frontier Trail even featured a glass-blowing demonstration! Certainly not something I was expecting to see in this park. I think this area, more than anything else, was what truly made me fall in love with Cedar Point. Not only could I go and ride some of the greatest coasters in the world, but I could also relax in a charming, well-themed area? What else could I want?
Though the park’s 150th anniversary passed back in 2020, the Celebrate Cedar Point parade was still going strong. It’s perhaps unfair, but still true, that unless I’m at a Disney park, I never expect much from a parade. In the case of Cedar Point, I couldn’t have been more wrong. This was an absolutely flawless parade. There were so many floats, each wonderfully designed and dynamic and many even included acrobatic performances. There was one float – I kid you not – that was a series of rollerskate ramps, with performers skating around the float, jumping off and then jumping back on. Another featured an acrobat performing parkour on a moving parade float. Another had a slide on the side that performers frequently slid down. Then in between, there were performers jumping wildly high on pogo sticks, whilst dancers around them performed some fantastic choreography. There was even a show stop during which the crowd was taught a dance routine to the (very catchy) anniversary song and then in our case, dragged up to dance in the parade. The whole thing just radiated joy and given the chance, I’d watch it every single day.
Our last ride in the park was, fittingly, the iconic Sky Ride. Taking us from the top of the midway, back toward the park’s entrance, with stunning views over most of the park, it made for a surprisingly emotional farewell. I couldn’t believe that I’d actually had the chance to ride all of these magnificent coasters beneath me, and take in the one-of-a-kind atmosphere of Cedar Point.
I very much expected Cedar Point to be a place that I’d appreciate for it’s ride collection, without caring too much for the park itself. However, the vibe across the park made it impossible not to fall in love with it. The quality of theming varies immensely – after all, this isn’t really a theme park – but Frontiertown (particularly the Frontier Trail) offered enough theming for me to be able to soak up all the immersion I needed, before skipping off to go ride an over-concrete hypercoaster with unbeatable views. The park simply radiates fun and feels like a holiday more than any other park outside of Orlando.
I’m determined to return one day.
Speak again soon,
Claire
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coasterclaire.co.uk 