ERT

ERT! ERT! What the heck is ERT you ask? In coaster enthusiast terms it means extra ride time. It is extra ride time on whatever ride the amusement park decides to let you ride. Most of the time it is a roller coaster but sometimes it is other attractions like flat rides and water rides. For those of you Disney fans out there reading this blog it is the equivalent of what they call Extra Magic Hours at the park. Extra ride time is exclusive usually to a group of people for a specific event or for resort guest staying on site of the amusement park property. I will say that it is a glorious and incredible experience. Here are the When, what, where, and why's of ERT. 

ERT Sign 

When did I first learn about ERT? It was early in 2008 when a co-worker mentioned to me that he was going to Holiday World for a coaster enthusiast event Holiwood Nights. I was like, "what is that?" He then proceeded to tell me that it was an event the park sets aside for members of online coaster clubs where they feed the group food and you get to ride the roller coasters and get into the water park before and after the general public gets into the park. At this point I was in a state of shock and excitement! I mean how in the world had I gone all these years and never heard about this type of opportunity?! Needless to say I told Ashley that we had to go to this event and we went in late May of 2008. I have been hooked ever since. I guess that's when you could say I became a true roller coaster enthusiast.

Me with the ride all to myself

What makes ERT so special? Have you ever been to an amusement park on a very crowded day and waited in a line longer than 30 minutes or even an hour for a ride? If you have then you know that it is not always very fun. You get hot, tired, and by the time you reach the ride your excitement has dwindled. With ERT you never have to worry about any of that. You will usually not have to wait longer than 15 minutes for any ride during an ERT session and most of time you barely wait at all!  A lot of times you can just stay seated on the roller coaster train or just switch seats. This is what enthusiasts call "marathoning" a roller coaster. I know that sounds absolutely delightful doesn't it? Or maybe it doesn't to some. Let me just say you really have to enjoy riding roller coasters to partake in this type of extra ride time. 

Empty Banshee Queue

Empty Goliath Queue

Why is ERT so much fun? Just look at the pictures above and below! However, the obvious answer is that you can usually get multiple rides on roller coasters without waiting for them. This, to me, is a huge win! The atmosphere around ERT sessions is also EPIC. I mean you already have roller coaster enthusiasts going crazy to ride the coaster multiple times. You then throw in the ride operators and their enthusiasm. They will usually high five riders and sometimes they will start chants and sing-a-longs in the station as well. It is just an all around great time. It is quite fun. 

Enjoying NO Wait

Have Fun on that ride to yourself Ashley

I have been to a park on a busy Saturday and then have ERT sessions both morning and night give complete walk-on rides when during the day waits were close to an hour or more. Yeah talk about awesome. I once rode The Voyage roller coaster at Holiday World 12 times in a row without waiting. That was probably my limit for a roller coaster. It was a blast though and yes I know I am crazy. In 2008 I rode Bakuli (Holiday World), an awesome water slide, 19 times in a row with no wait. Again, yes I am crazy. I figured since there was no wait and I was having a blast I would just keep riding so I did. Ashley and I rode Millennium Force at Cedar Point four times in a row during one ERT session back in 2011. This is still something we often talk about because it was such a rare opportunity and made for a very memorable moment. Most of the times, even on slow days, Millennium Force demands at least a 15-30 minute line so being able to get off the train (separate unloading station from loading station) and hop back onto the other train was unreal!

No General Public means a Happy Us

   
Where have I done ERT? I have participated in ERT events at Cedar Point (Coastermania! - please read the previous blog post to see details of this event), Holiday World (Holiwood Nights - INCREDIBLE EVENT), Dollywood, Kings Island, Beech Bend, and Six Flags Over Georgia. A sample schedule of an ERT session would be like this:

7:30 am - Registration for event starts
8:00 am - ERT begins on rides designated by park
10:00 am - Park opens to general public
10:00 pm - Park closes to the general public
10:15 pm - ERT begins on rides designated by park
Midnight - ERT session ends

Normally parks will give enthusiast groups an hour of ERT in the morning and an hour of ERT in the evening. For the bigger events like Coastermania! and Holiwood Nights you can get anywhere between 2-4 hours of ERT in the morning and evening which is even more perfect.    

Again, you really have to enjoy riding rides and roller coasters to make the most of ERT. However, even if you don't like riding roller coasters over and over again you can still ride a few times without having to wait much. That is a nice perk especially when it is a busy day at the park and you don't feel like waiting in huge lines. It is a good feeling to know that you can enjoy a park all day without worrying whether or not the lines are going to be long. If you see a line that is 30 minutes or an hour long you can just skip it and wait till the ERT session to ride the ride. 

Also, being part of an exclusive group in an amusement park after it has closed or before it has opened to the general public is a neat experience. You get to see a much different atmosphere than the chaos that normally surrounds the park experience. You don't have to worry about teenagers yelling/being obnoxious, people cutting in line, or bumping into park goers everywhere you turn. It is just you and the open midway. It is just you and the wide open ride queue. What an experience! If you ever want to know more about these ERT events just ask me. I am always willing to talk about my experiences. I plan to share more specific details of other events I have been to in later blog posts so come back and ride on. 

Empty Kings Island

I got the Park all to myself!

What Makes a Roller Coaster Great?

I know, shame on me. I haven't posted in this blog for about a week now. I am sure that has saddened you. If so then don't worry I will continue on. I thought I would share a few thoughts regarding what I think makes a roller coaster a great roller coaster. Now when I say great roller coaster I mean best of the best roller coasters in the world. I will focus in on my top ten roller coasters specifically since those are the ones I have experience on. There are many elements that go into this opinion. I will do my best to share them with you. 

I have not yet shared with you my top ten list of the best roller coasters that I have ridden. It's a secret but not really. I plan to share that list soon and maybe at the end of the blog post if you are still reading. Do not just skip to the end. That would be no fun. I can say that the list only includes one coaster that goes upside down and that coaster only goes upside down once. I know, shocker, right? Most people really love inversions. There comes a point in an enthusiasts life, otherwise known as getting older, that will make inversions/upside down moments not as enjoyable. I can sometimes tend to get a little queasy when I go upside down a lot now. This is a sad realization for me. Now don't get me wrong I still enjoy looping roller coasters and ride them as often as I can. I looked and see that I have four looping coasters listed in my top 20 and more outside that number. I believe that a looping coaster does not a great coaster make as you will see with my top ten list. 

Ok, so what makes a great roller coaster? A few things do. Here are some elements that I think make a great roller coaster and I will try to cover them here; air time, height, speed, length, elements of surprise (wow factor), and terrain. I will start with air time. What is air time you ask? It is that moment when you are riding a coaster and you hit a hill and come up out of your seat. You can feel yourself, namely your butt, leave the seat. There are a few different types of air time that I will describe; ejector, floater, and basic. Air time is the single most important deciding factor in what makes a great coaster.  

The best type of air time is what is called 'ejector' air time. That is when you hit a hill at a high rate of speed and are forced upward out of your seat. It is abrupt, very forceful, and intense. If you experience this on a roller coaster you know what I mean. I will give an example of roller coasters that offer ejector airtime below: 

El Toro is the coaster in the left picture. It comes in at #3 on my coaster rankings. As you can see the hills are abundant and they are high and taken at a fast rate of speed allowing for some major ejector air to take place. The same can be said for the smaller steel coaster on the right known as Lightning Run (top right picture). It may not look like much but watch out, this coaster has ejector air everywhere throughout the course. If you look at the layout closely you can see an abundance of small hills everywhere which are taken at a high rate of speed and provide spectacular forceful air time. The final three hills before the train comes back to the station are so much fun and pretty intense. It ranks #4 on my coaster rankings and I've only ridden it once. That's all it took. Skyrush (bottom picture) is probably the coaster I have ridden with the best ejector air time. It's hard to describe it until you have actually ridden this ride. The drop is 200 feet, intense, and throws you out of your seat. The subsequent hills and curves are nothing but ejector air time. Just when you catch your breath you are thrown out of your seat again. It has a 'wow' factor beyond belief and you are thrilled in more ways than you can even imagine while riding. This is why it's #5 in my coaster rankings. Skyrush you are a rush and throw me to the sky! 

The other two types of air time are floater air time which can be best described by looking at the two pictures below. They are usually elongated hills when taken by good speeds and give you sustained air throughout the entire hill from one side of the hill to the other. In other words floater air time provides what you can call a 'weeeee' moment of fun or thrill. Yes, you can and will feel the urge to shout out "weeeee" when you take these types of hills. Notice that big hill on Intimidator 305 (red and yellow coaster below) that goes through the lift hill. Yeah it is absolutely fantastic! 

The other type of air time I just call basic. The reason for this is because it's not really ejector and it's not floater. It is just air time where you hit a hill and come out of your seat briefly. You can experience this type of air time on many different roller coasters. There is one specific coaster that has all three types of air time in abundance which is what makes it amazing. 

That coaster is the Voyage (which unfortunately I don't have a picture of right now) and it has 24.2 seconds of air time during the ride. That number was not calculated by me but by the park itself. It is a wood coaster and very long and fast (67 mph). It has a few surprise elements like two 90 degree banked sections of track and the famous 'triple down' element that will literally blow your mind while you are riding. It has tons of different tunnels which provide a neat riding experience. It is literally like a coaster Voyage of awesome. It is a long coaster at 6,442 feet and goes through some nice terrain which also makes it spectacular. The air time on Voyage is unique because you get all three types of air time in one ride. There are spots where you get basic air out of your seat, some parts where you get ejector, and other times when you get the floater air time. The Voyage comes in at #9 on my rankings. Now it's time to sail away, your Voyage begins, without delay. 

Bizarro is another coaster that offers an all of the above amount of airtime. You get ejector, floater, and basic throughout the course. The height is 208 feet yet you drop 225 feet into an underground tunnel! Win! It's speed, hills, and fast turns the rest of the way. The terrain is also neat due to its location along the Connecticut River. Oh, and it has a misting tunnel, another win! This coaster is #2 on my list and has been rated as the number one coaster on the planet 5 different times. 

What else besides air time makes a coaster great? I would say height/drop is also important. Seven of my top ten coasters are over 150 feet tall. Height adds a unique factor especially when going up the lift hill and then plummeting down through the course. Also the higher the coaster goes the faster it goes. If you are scared of heights it adds another thrill factor. Here are some pictures, along with their heights and speeds, of tall coasters in my top ten list. Heights in feet of coasters in my top ten are as follows: 420, 310, 305, 208, 200, 181, 163, 115, 102, and 100. 

Lightning Run 100 feet 55 mph

Top Thrill Dragster 420 feet 120 mph

Millennium Force 310 feet 93 mph

Bizarro 208 feet 77 mph

El Toro 181 feet 70 mph

 

Intimidator 305 305 feet 92 mph

Skyrush 200 feet 75 mph

All six of these roller coasters have blistering speeds which lead to some amazing air time, sharp turns, and many positive and negative g-forces. Top Thrill Dragster has an unreal height of 420 feet. It is awe-inspiring as you crest the hill. It's fast at 120 mph in just four seconds and ranks #6 on my list. Millennium Force as most of you who have been reading this blog know is my #1 roller coaster ridden. It has all of the elements that make a great coaster: Height, speed, air time, terrain, length, and wow factor. Intimidator 305 is an incredible rush. It is high, fast, intense, and fun. It has some very fast turns and surprise moments. It's #7 on my ratings. Here are the speeds of the coasters in my top ten in miles per hour: 120, 93, 92, 77, 75, 70, 67, 60, 60, and 55. 

Length is also important (insert joke here). Seriously though when you are on a good roller coaster you shouldn't want it to end. Here are the lengths of the coasters in my top ten in feet: 6595, 6442, 5400, 5100, 4725, 4429, 4400, 3600, 2800, and 2500. 

Terrain is the last element that makes a coaster great. The best terrain coaster I have ever ridden probably goes to Boulder Dash. The reason; because it goes up the side of a mountain, drops down the mountain, and rushes alongside the mountainside. It's pretty incredible and offers the out-of-control experience that I love. It is #10 on my list. Another great terrain coaster I have ridden is Cheetah Hunt (sorry, no picture for this one). The coaster has three launches, goes across the entire park which includes the Serengeti plain (animal habitat), and into an area of water with waterfalls. It's give a very beautiful setting as your are riding such an thrilling ride. It ranks #8 on my list.  

There you have it. My top ten roller coasters and the reasons why they are that great. Let me be clear, I have ridden a lot of great coasters but out of the 156 I have ridden these are the best of the best. They are special. It takes a lot to make these coasters as incredible as they are. These are just my opinions of why I think they are so great. You may ride the same coasters and have a different experience. That is what makes coaster riding special. Everyone can have fun in different ways. I can assure you that if you ride any of these ten coasters you will be blown away by greatness though. What are your top ten roller coasters?

My Top Ten:

1. Millennium Force

2. Bizarro

3. El Toro

4. Lightning Run

5. Skyrush

6. Top Thrill Dragster

7. Intimidator 305

8. Cheetah Hunt 

9. The Voyage

10. Boulder Dash

  

Coastermania!

Today is a really good day. It is the first Friday of June and you know what that means? It means it is the day of the yearly event, known to coaster enthusiasts, called Coastermania! is held. Where is it held you might ask? It's held at the greatest amusement park in the world, Cedar Point! Well of course it is held there since it's so awesome. I must say that I am a little sad I have to be here typing this blog instead of actually being at the park attending this wonderful event. I will just have to look forward to attending Coastermania! in the future.  

What is Coastermania!? It is a special event created for roller coaster enthusiasts from around the globe (yes people come from all over the USA and different countries to attend this event) so that they can come to Cedar Point and ride their stellar roller coasters for a long period of time. Sounds amazing doesn't it? Oh, it is absolutely fantastic! 

Here is what a typical day of Coastermania! entails. You arrive at the park between 6:30 am and 7:00 am. At 7:00 am you register for the event. They will give you your registration materials which usually includes a lanyard (pictured below), meal ticket, and soda wristband for unlimited soda all day (WIN). Once you enter the park they usually have breakfast waiting for you in the form of doughnuts, really good, very tasty doughnuts. I'm not kidding. These things are mouthwatering. They also have coffee, milk, and juices for the group as well. 

You will then proceed to choose which coaster you want to ride first, with no general public in the park. This is what enthusiasts call ERT or extra ride time. This means little to no waiting on the incredible roller coasters of Cedar Point. Yes, it is amazing. Depending on the year, in the morning, the park usually has Millennium Force up and going so I will head to that. The ERT starts at 7:30 am and lasts till 9:00 am when resort guests and platinum pass holders can start riding. You can usually get in ten or more rides in on Millennium Force and other coasters during that time frame depending on which ones they have open. That's what I call perfection.  

The park officially opens to the public at 10:00 am and that's when the crowds tend to get bigger. The good thing about Coastermania! though is that since it's on a Friday during the first week of June the crowds aren't usually that bad. Also, you get the benefit of it not being in the heat of the summer which gives you some very nice temperatures. I kid you not, last year when Ashley and I went the highs were only in the 60's! It was beautiful and very comfortable walking around a park all day.  

After riding whatever rides you feel like for the next few hours Cedar Point serves the Coastermania! group lunch in the picnic pavilion in the front of the park. It's at this point you usually have to wait in the longest line of the day. Coaster enthusiasts love to eat and the line is a direct representation of that. Before you get your food Cedar Point gives everyone in line an event gift (pictured below) which is usually a T-shirt, hooded sweat shirt, long-sleeved shirt, or a fleece jacket. Thank-you Cedar Point you are awesome!

 

Onto the food. It is wonderful and plentiful. They have a great spread of food (as you will see in the below picture) including bbq, sausage, hot dogs, hamburgers, pasta, mac n cheese, potato salad, pork beans, salad, rolls, and plenty of desserts (cookies and ice cream). It always amazes me how they are able to feed so many people and still have so much food. Oh, and did I mention the food is delicious? 

After lunch it is time to just enjoy the park. You will have a good eight hours or so till the park closes at 10:00pm and ERT resumes. In years past I would usually use this time to relax and hit some of the water rides the park has to offer. They have three of them located towards the back of the park in Frontiertown. They are pretty fun. After that I like to hit up the water park if it isn't that busy and normally it's not due to the cooler temperatures. In 2010 the temperatures were in the low 70's so I got to go down all the water slides with no wait. That was so fun. However, in 2013 it was way too cool outside to even think about going over to the water park. They also have an adults only (18 years and up) hot tub which is a lifesaver due to all of the walking you do during the event. 

It is now 10:00 pm and time for the park to close for the day, but not for crazy coaster enthusiasts like myself. Nope, I just wait for more coasters to open up and marathon them. Again, they usually have four more coasters open from 10:30 pm till 12:30 am! They also open a few of their thrill rides which is a nice change of pace from the coasters. At this point for those enthusiasts who are the really hardcore they have been at the park now for almost 18 hours. Yeah that's right, 18 mind-blowing hours. Let's see, you get there around 6:30 am and now it's 12:30 am the next day!? Yup, that's 18 hours. I am happy to say Ashley and I did this just last year and you know what we had the time of our lives. 

Well, that is it. The day is over and you have started a new day by staying in the park so long. I really can't describe how awesome it is to spend that much time at Cedar Point. I have tried through this blog but until you actually do it you may never know. If you remotely enjoy riding roller coasters multiple times with little to no wait this event is for you. I normally keep up with how many rides I ride in a day. Unfortunately I don't have that list with me right now but I know during one of these events in previous years I got over 80 total rides in a day and a half. Yeah pretty spectacular! 

The years that I went from 2009-2011 Coastermania! was a two day event starting on Friday night and ending late Saturday night. In 2012 they changed it to just one day but man I tell you it's a remarkable day. You get to do so much and enjoy so much riding, eating, and even relaxing. Today is the day, Coastermania! day. I am sad that I cannot be there at the park today but the memories I have made going to this event will last a lifetime.  

Cedar Point America's Roller Coast

It is time. It is time to introduce you to the greatest amusement park in world. No it is not Walt Disney World (although I know some may think it is). It is Cedar Point located on the shores of Lake Erie in Sandusky Ohio. Can I tell you why I think it is so great? If not, then too bad, you may not want to read this blog post. Ok, ok, I'm kidding, please don't leave. You will not be sorry. 

I have had the privilege of visiting Cedar Point in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013. I would visit it again this year if I had the time to do so. I can't say enough about how awesome the park is every year I go. The shear size and amount of rides/roller coasters the park has is simply mind-blowing. It has over 70 total rides and 16 roller coasters. The setting of the park is so beautiful it would make the local botanical gardens look like a bunch of weeds growing everywhere. Ok, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration but it's pretty amazing. It's going to be very hard to convey through writing how awesome of a setting this park has. I will start with these pictures. 

The first picture you see is the iconic skyline of the park as you drive down the causeway and approach the park. The first time I got to see this in person was July 4th, 2007. Ashley and I made the trip together and when I saw this amazing setting for the first time from the road on the way in I was stunned. I had never seen an amusement park so huge with so many tall rides and incredible roller coasters. I am not going to lie, I got goosebumps. I know, kind of silly but the enthusiast in me gets very excited when he see's 400ft, 300ft, a few 200ft tall attractions from the road! Yes, their rides are tall, their rides are fast, their rides push the extreme, and their rides look amazing from every angle. That is what makes Cedar Point the best. 

The picture below is of the entrance to the park and let me tell you it one of the most if not the best entrance to an amusement park you will ever see. The roller coaster GateKeeper (perfectly named) was new when this picture was taken in June, 2013. When Cedar Point designs a roller coaster they do it so that it will 'wow' you. You will see examples of this as I show you more pictures. Yes, the coaster actually sends riders soaring over the entrance of the park twice! It's quite fun to watch the ride and hear the screams as you are about to enter the greatest amusement park anywhere. 

When you enter the park you will see just how enormous it really is. You have a huge main midway that extends to about the halfway point in the middle of the park before it splits off to the right and left (where you go if you want to ride the greatest coaster ever). More on this in a minute. But first here are a few pictures of some of the coasters in the front of the park. 

The first major ride you will see will be Raptor, a state of the art inverted roller coaster that was built in 1994. It is still a stellar ride and packs a lot of inversions and forces throughout the course. It also has an amazing drop that kicks you out over the midway as you will see in the photo below. Again, another reason that Cedar Point 'wows' you with their coaster design. Fittingly enough the catch phrase for this ride is 'kick the sky' and you will do just that.  

The other coaster you will see directly on the other side of Raptor is a wood coaster painted blue and aptly named Blue Streak. It is the oldest roller coaster in the park built in 1964 (celebrating it's 50 year anniversary this year) and yes it does pack a punch. It is very smooth for a wood coaster and it has a lot of nice air time moments. It also usually doesn't have a huge line which is nice. 

There are plenty of other rides and attractions sprawled out throughout the front side of the park. In the sake of time I will only be hitting some of the major rides. After you kick the sky on Raptor and have fun on the blue streak you can head on over to the right past the Johnny Rockets and kiddie area (yes Cedar Point has lots of rides for the kiddos) and you will see two more great roller coasters. First up is GateKeeper.  

  

If you're paying attention to these pictures you will notice that big body of water there. That's not the Atlantic Ocean but Lake Erie. It is quite impressive and adds another nice backdrop to this great park. GateKeeper was new this year I took these pictures in 2013. It replaced Disaster Transport an indoor bobsled roller coaster that just needed to go. This ride is much better and makes the park look a lot better especially around this area. The ride you see at the bottom left of the first picture is MaXair the tallest ride of its kind in the world (again, credit Cedar Point for always building the tallest and fastest rides). It is a wild ride and if you are a thrill junkie it is not to be missed. Ashley and I are excited to ride the tallest, longest, and fastest winged coaster in the world as you can see below.  

Next up you will see a coaster that towers over 200ft. It's name is Wicked Twister and it is very thrilling. You start off by being launched at 60 mph forwards up a twisty spiral. You will then be launched faster backwards up the back sprial. Then on the way through the station you will get your final launch at 72 mph forcing you to the top of the 212 foot height of the coaster track! The ride is a blast and an underrated coaster. It's the largest of its kind in the world too. 

Ok, keep in mind that this is just the front of the park. I have introduced you to four great roller coasters and a few thrill rides. That other tall tower is Windseeker a 300ft tall swing ride next to Lake Erie. As you make your way down the main midway you will hit an area that branches off to the right or left. Choose wisely...

If you choose to go to the right you will hit corkscrew (as seen going upside down over the midway) or the more awesome Top Thrill Dragster (as seen below). You will then pass these roller coasters Magnum XL-200, Gemini, Mean Streak, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, and Maverick on the way to the back of the park (last three at the back of the park). If you hang a left you will pass Iron Dragon, Mantis, and then the beauty of them all, Millennium Force.

Top Thrill Dragster is the first roller coaster to surpass the 400 foot barrier as well as break a speed record reaching speeds of 120 mph in just four seconds. You heard that right. You are launched from the right hand side of the ride at 120 mph in four seconds while going up that 420 foot tower to fall back down that tower at 400 feet. To say thrilling would put it mildly. I had a lump in my throat the first time I rode this thing in 2007 and since then I have ridden it many times. It is so much fun. I have it at #6 on my track record of 156 coasters ridden if that tells you anything. The ride only lasts 17 seconds from launch to brakes but it is very memorable and worth every second.

Millennium Force, where have I seen you before? Well, if you have been reading my blog you would have seen it as my second blog post. You would also know that it is the best roller coaster I have ever ridden. On most days it has the longest line in the park and for a good reason. It is simply the best ride in the park and in the world, at least to me. 

Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the rest of the coasters towards the back of the park. I know, shame on me. I'm sure I will have time later to blog about them. I will say that Maverick in the very back is an incredible roller coaster. It has a 95 degree 100 foot drop (yes that is beyond vertical), a 70 mph launch out of a tunnel, a few inversions, and a bunch of other surprises throughout the 4,450 foot course. I have Maverick as my #12 rated coaster so it is yet another great ride at Cedar Point. 

Magnum XL-200 was the built in 1989 and was the first coaster to be built taller than 200 feet. It reaches speeds of 72 mph and is constant hills and speed through the over 5,000 feet of track. I have it ranked as #40. It is a classic. You also have Gemini which is a steel dual track racing coaster. When it was built in 1978 it was the tallest and faster roller coaster in the country at 125 feet and 60 mph. It is still a fun coaster and very re-ridable. You have Mean Streak in the back of the park and at the time it was built in 1991 it was the tallest and fastest wooden coaster in the country at 161 feet and 65 mph. It has not aged well and really needs to be either torn down and turned into firewood or be completely overhauled. There are a few coasters at Cedar Point for kiddos: Wilderness Run and Woodstock Express. They also have Iron Dragon and Cedar Creek Mine ride which are much more tame coasters. 

Closing Thoughts. If you are still reading this I am impressed and I appreciate your attention. I hope I have done the best I can to describe this wonderful amusement park to you. The park has been voted "Best Amusement Park Park in the World" from Amusement Today for the past 16 years and rightfully so. The park gets an attendance of 3.3 million which ranks it #1 among seasonal park attendance in the United States. It boasts some of the best roller coasters at any park I have been to. The #1, #6, #12, #19, #28, #29, and #40 ranked coasters that I have ridden come from Cedar Point. This is a park you could easily spend a whole week at and not get bored. There is so much to do. Even if you don't like to ride rides you can just enjoy the spectacular atmosphere. They have great shows, good food, and friendly employees. I will leave you with some pictures and the charge to make sure you visit this park sometime in your lifetime. You will not regret it one bit. Thanks for visiting America's rockin' roller coast, ride on!