The Greatest Place on Earth: Cedar Point

This post, I'll skip the pointless introduction. ;) Some friends took us on a two-night, three-day trip to Cedar Point and Castaway Bay, their indoor waterpark. We spent Sunday at the hotel/waterpark, Monday at Cedar Point/the waterpark, and Tuesday again at the waterpark. Here's the full story!

Sunday
Meeting up with Barak and Amanda at noontime:


On our drive, we stopped at this travel plaza:


Arriving at the hotel; these water slides exit the building, then reenter it:


Andrew and I made good use of our money: the arcade!


This is the waterpark's "fun house":


My brother Donnie, his fiancée Connie, and my sister Katie arrived very early on Monday morning. Our entire family was together again! It's a rare occasion nowadays.

Monday
We woke up and planning to be at Cedar Point by 9am. Swiftly getting the vans packed up, we all wondered how the weather would fair for the day. Much of the amusement park's rides stays open during slight rain, but everything closes for thunder. Needless to say, heavy rain or lightning could ruin the trip.

Such antisipation! Such excitement! I couldn't wait to see the towering views of the Dragster, Power Tower or Millennium Force. This view thrilled me to such a degree when we went there in years past.

From the parking lot you can see the Millennium Force, Blue Streak, Dragster and Raptor:


This year was no different. We entered the park, and I was thrilled to pieces! My mom had planned out a course of action that would allow us to hit the best rides before the throngs of people arrived at 10am. This plan was foolproof. Until, that is, we walked to the Raptor and learned the ride was closed.

Busting through the gates! You can vaguely see the Raptor, maXair, Farris Wheel, Space Needle and Twister:


We also learned the Millennium Force, generally regarded as the greatest rollar coaster in the world, was closed. The lady who ran the Raptor told us that a few rides were already open, including the Iron Dragon. I've been on it before, and enjoyed it again, the first ride we went on!

We then walked over to the Power Tower. Alas, it too was closed. Just as we were right outside it, the guy announced the ride was opening! We didn't even have a line to wait in! It took us slowly up, and I was terrified. After a few seconds waiting, we dropped like a rock! Did I scream? Yes. But was it an excited scream? No. I was so thrilled and horrified that I just had to yell. Once that was over, we slowly fell the rest of the way. CRAZY RIDE. ;)



We walked over to the Millennium Force, and it was still closed. There was a small line of people who were waiting in line in case it opened. After we joined the line, so did others. We waited for almost an hour, hoping for them to open it. After watching a few test runs, the lady announced, "I'm opening the ride!" We all cheered and were among the first to ride. It was incredible... rated one of the best rides in the world, it is.

Us waiting in line, with the Millennium Force in the background:


Hanging outside after riding:


After that, we got in line to ride the Mantis. It is a ride where you stand up the entire way. It, as the others before it, was very fun!

This is Andrew, Katie, Grace and myself on the Mantis:


The Mantis in the background:


We then walked to the lunch area. It started to rain much harder while we were in there, and it was getting cold! We rode the maXair right after lunch. WOW. The feeling and view from that ride is something I'll never forget. As soon as we finished it, we got in line again! Then, we rode the Twister. That ride is right along the lake; therefore, the winds increased very much. Combining that fact with the heavy rain and cold temperature, IT WAS FREEZING! However, both the maXair and Twister were awesome rides!

We then took the Train Ride around to the back of the park. We hoped to ride the Mean Steak, but it had closed. Instead, we bought ourselves (Katie, Andrew, Grace, myself) an elephant ear to split, and walked back towards the gate to leave. On the way, despite being soaked and freezing cold, we ran through the sprinklers! A great end to an even better day.

When we returned to the hotel, and went in the waterpark again.

Tuesday
We woke up and packed the room. We had to be out by 11am, but could stay at the hotel and waterpark all day. While the adults talked and played games, we went swimming yet again. After that, we decided to go out to Ryan's buffet.

The group picture, in front of a ship design in the lobby:


Eating at the buffet:


Little Bam-Bam, Katie and Amanda:


We drove dropped Barak and Amanda off in Detroit, and went home from there. All in all, this trip was the highlight of 2010, by far. Special thanks to Dawnser and Chuckie, who payed for the trip! Also, thanks be to God for his indescribable blessings! Truly, a blog post cannot capture the amazing time that Cedar Point 2010 was. I just hope I did my best.

---

God bless, J.J. Biddinger