Pokematic's 2023 Cedar Point Adventure 2, Let's Finish This

Hey everyone, 2 weeks ago my mom and I went to Cedar Point, and while we had a lot of fun there was a lot we weren't able to do. Well we went back last Friday after I took a half day to try to do what we couldn't do the first time. We bought another all day meal deal and since it wasn't Halloweekend Saturday I was able to get her a discount bring a friend ticket. After work we drove the 150 minute drive and this time we took the toll road, and it went much faster than it did last time. We now remembered why we did the toll road when we were younger. What was great is that since it was a Friday the park wasn't super crowded, and more things were open. We still had some trouble finding parking, but no big deal. We also had our jackets in case it got too cold but didn't want to bring them around the park and so we left them in the car.

I was quite hungry so we wanted to get food first, and the restaurant we wanted to try was kind of in the park from the main entrance. I looked up where it was and the cable car sky ride would take us pretty close to it. This was great because we weren't able to ride that last time. We got in line and our first ride of the day was taking us to a new restaurant. It was pretty cool because it's so high up and we got to see all the things from a different vantage point. Once we got to the destination I realized I made a mistake in my map reading, because the restaurant was not actually that close. Whatever, we just walked over to the place. The restaurant we wanted to try was Derby Dog, a gourmet hot dog place, and unfortunately it was closed. That sucked, but thankfully another place we wanted to try was close by, the Coral. Mom looked it up and they supposedly had a Texas sandwich we thought would be like brisket, but unfortunately the website wasn't updated and it was chicken fingers and pizza, so we got the pizza. It wasn't very good pizza though, but the fries it came with were good so there's that.

After eating we made our way over to the boardwalk area to ride max air and windseaker, 2 rides we wanted to do last time but couldn't due to the wind. Since max air was closest we did it first. Max Air is this swinging ride that spins you around while swinging you back and forth really high up. It's quite a fun ride, and we didn't have to wait very long because it holds 50 people and the park wasn't that busy. It was really fun. After that we made our way to windseaker, the swing ride that spins you around like 300 feet in the air. As I said last time, it doesn't seem like it would be very thrilling but when you get up that high it's pretty wild. We had to wait for 1 ride and then it was our turn. We got our seat number, we got in the seat, we got fastened in, and then they had to close it down because of wind. So close, but no. Oh well. Because I wanted to see the arcade we went back to the Derby Dogs area so I could go to the Coliseum Arcade. I didn't want to play anything, just walk around, and it was pretty cool. It didn't have the video games and pinball machines I remember from when I was young, but it did have skeeball and basketball games, and many claw games and coin pushers. There was even a 9 hole minigolf course, which was pretty cool. Mom even thought it was pretty cool, but that was basically it. At this point we decided to make our way to the back of the park where it gets scary at night, We did the power tower on our walk back because it was a walk on and is a fun one, and where we sat we got a good view of the top thrill 2 construction. That was pretty cool. As we walked by we saw that camp snoopy wasn't running, which was too bad for the kids because it has a lot of fun rides. It also meant we weren't able to do the pipe scream, but that was OK. We went by the Gemini and it was closed, not sure why but it was. No matter, our plan was to ride the Maverick, a roller coaster with a 95 degree drop.

When we got to the back it was time for our next meal, and we went to the farmhouse kitchen and grill where we got steak and fried smashed potatoes. The steak was pretty good and the potatoes were really interesting. How to describe them? They were kind of like the red skin potato wedges that are pretty common at a barbecue place, only instead of roasted and sautéed they were deep fried, and were quite yummy. Before Maverick we rode skyhawk, a big swinging ride that just swings you back and forth really high up. That was also a walk on, and was really fun. OK, now it's time for the big one, the Maverick. We knew this would be a long wait considering the last time we were there the fast pass line was 45 minute, but this time it only took about an hour for us to get on it. Boy was it fun, the 95 degree drop, the speed, the minor story with the western mine scene, and so smooth, and we ended up sitting in row 1 just by chance. Really fun, worth the hour it took to wait. When we got off it was time to eat again, and we went to sagebrush Sue's a corndog and fried cheese place. We decided to get the fried cheese on a stick, mozzarella cheese fried in corn dog batter. It was good, and we sent a picture to our Evansville relatives who were having their fall festival at that time. It's a southern city, they have a lot of fried food, and they appreciated seeing what we did.

The next ride we were going to ride is the only other ride of note in the back there, Steel Vengeance. For some reason it won't allow you to have metal on you and you have to go through metal detectors and store all your stuff in a locker. We were ready to get the locker but since it had a visibly long line and my pants had metal rivets in it I said "better to check to make sure this is OK." Turns out the line wasn't all that long, it was just that people were waiting for it to open, because it was closed, again. That was frustrating, but we said "at least we didn't get a locker," and after a little research I found it used to be the mean streak (the ride that was too rough on Mom when she was young) and it used a lot of the old track, so it was probably for the best. With nothing else to really do we got on the train and road it to the next stop. This was a really popular ride when we were little, because my brother loved trains as a kid. On the train there's this scene of skeletons in an old west kind of town, and it's always there year round and has been the same show for at least 25 years (probably longer). The train took us to where the Millennium Force and Rougarou were, which was great because we didn't ride those the last time. The Rougarou was a pretty new roller coaster so we expected a kind of long wait, but it was basically a walk on, which was great. As a hanging coaster I couldn't wear my loose fitting crocks, and the ride said "no loose articles, you will need a locker," so we spent the $3 to get a locker. I put my shoes in because we already had the locker and might as well use it to it's full extent, and while it wasn't that bad walking on the cement it was kind of painful on the grated steel steps. That wasn't fun. We were put in the back row this time and it was a really fun coaster. Once we got back the ride operator asked mom and I if we wanted to go again since there wasn't a line, and we said sure. Twice was enough though. Next we were going to try Millennium Force, a ride that was going to be a 1.25 hour wait, but since Mom had trouble once with the seat we made sure she could fit in it. Unfortunately she couldn't so we didn't. Since we were close to the Panda Express of the park and it was about time to eat again, we went there. We got the platter of orange chicken, beef and broccoli, fried rice, and cow main. When I went to scan my band I had to wait another 30 seconds because it hadn't been 90 minutes yet, but then the cashier rescanned after 30 seconds and all was good. It was Panda Express, decent quality fast Chinese food.

So now we're kind of back at the middle front, and now for some other rides. I wanted to ride on Magnum XL but mom didn't since it was made in 1989, and with a 30 minute wait she decided to just sit it out and let me do it. Since I was by myself on this one I just watched some videos I had on my phone and basically just waited for the ride. It was a pretty fun ride, though mom was right, it was kind of jerky and wouldn't have been good for her. The exit to the ride was kind of far from the entrance and where mom was waiting, so she was starting to wonder where I was. Since we were close to back beat que we went to it for our next meal. We got pulled pork and potato wedges. It was pretty good, nothing special but still good and would recommend.

It's getting late at this point so we're starting to get tired. Our next ride was Raptor, one of the older rides from at least around when I was really little. Last time it was a long wait, but since this was a not super busy day it was only like a 20 minute wait. While we were waiting there was a maintenance room with a roof that had a bunch of live strong bands and hair bands shot onto it. Oh man, live strong bands were so crazy to see; those were probably close to 20 years old now. So wild to see. When we road on the ride it had the ride pictures. I tried to do a Gene Simmons (tongue out), but I missed the photo so it was just me smiling. After Raptor we went to the grand pavilion and had steak and lobster bisque, and just rested for about 30 minutes in the warm restaurant. After that we went on Wild Mouse, one of those roller coasters that has like 4 people per car. Mom said she never road one because it's such a slow loader. Mom really enjoyed it, but it was kind of jerky. The next ride was the Atomic Scrambler. It's a fun spinning ride, and was quite fun. We also did the dodgem cars, and I forgot how much fun they are, Since we were right by max air and it was a walk on we decided to ride it again, and I took my shoes off to make sure they didn't fall off and it was cold. Someone else who was wearing crocks did the same thing and after the ride said "bro your feet must be freezing, I know because mine are." At this point we had rode pretty much every ride we could have except for the carousels. We decided we were just going to do the Cedar Downs Racing Derby, a carousel that goes really fast and is meant to feel like a race track. Mom was like "you need to help me get on and off." She sat on one of the inner horses and I sat on one of the outer horses (because that would be the fastest one). It was kind of crazy since it isn't that much unlike a normal carousel, and by that I mean "you're just sitting on it without any safety restraints." Since we were getting tired it was kind of wild, like we felt "make sure to hold on and don't fall off," and there were some times where I felt like I was going to fall off. Mom was like "wow that was crazy, and all the while I was thinking 'I've made it this far, don't get hurt by falling off a horse on a carousel.'" At this point we were done, we got one more meal at Hugo's Italian Kitchen where we got pizza and a Caesar salad.

OK, it's like 11 at night, we are tired and cold, we found our way to the car and just sat in it with the heat on for some minutes. Mom put in the directions for the motel and we made it there before midnight. Mom checked us in and got our room. As we were unpacking I realized I forgot my overnight bag at home, meaning I wasn't going to be able to change my clothes or brush my teeth. I finger scrubbed my teeth the best I could, but it didn't do a whole lot (my teeth felt really dirty the following day). I slept pretty long, long enough for Mom to go for a swim at the motel pool. After I woke up and Mom went swimming we packed up our stuff and went to McDonalds for breakfast. This is when I learned there's a pokemon promotion going on right now and now I need to get all the toys. We drove for a while and stopped at the turn pike rest stop mostly for old times sakes. I played one of the games and won a bouncy ball (because playing the games was a big thing when I was a kid).

Once we got home I said my goodbyes to mom, saw where the bag was, and showered and changed my clothes and really brushed my teeth. It felt good to not feel so gross. In terms of food we saved $95.43, though it might be less because I now realize I have the all season pass instead of just the all day pass. I might have to go back one more time just to make sure I get all the food. Maybe mskate and I can go one day since there's a lot of food she would be able to eat, but if not maybe I'll just go by myself. It was really fun, and highly recommend. This has been Pokematic, signing off, and bu-bye.

Pokematic's 2023 Cedar Point Adventure

Hey everyone, so because I grew up within a reasonable driving distance to Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio, and that meant that I went to Cedar Point rather frequently for special events; my mom's side of the family would go once a year with everyone (Aunt, Uncle, Tanman, Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, Dad, and VikingPolak), my school would go there for special field trips (I went there with mskate for a physics class trip and I went there with my band class), and some times I went with the boy scouts. Since I was able to get a decent deal on a season pass I decided to get one for the 2023 year and not just for the summer. I'm very glad I did because I was very busy over the summer and only was able to get there at the end of September. I asked my mom if she wanted to go and we went over the weekend. I thought I could get a reduced ticket due to my season pass, but because it's special Halloween Saturday events (called "Halloweekend"), mom had to get a full price ticket, but that was OK because we got a special bundle of "all day dining, ticket, and parking" (my pass already had parking, but it was cheaper to get this bundle than to get the 2 separately, like "all day dining and a day ticket was $110" while "ticket and parking and dining bundle was $100"). Whatever, we were going to have 13 hours in the park for food and fun.

Mom got to our condo so we could get to the park right when it opened, and we got going almost right when she got there. We ended up having a problem because traffic put us like 30 minutes later than expected. That sucked, not just because it was less time for rides but also meant the all day meal was going to be less than we could fully maximize (we can get another meal 90 minutes after the previous meal), and while there is 1 hour of leeway for max use that gets eaten up by the lines. Oh well, we got to the island and scanned my QR code for the parking. We parked at row 33 section C, kind of far from the entrance but it was OK. As we were going in there was a marching band that was parading around the parking lot. It was kind of interesting. As we were going in I saw some people in costumes and I didn't really connect that people were going to be wearing costumes, then mom told me and it made sense.

Once we got in we got some pictures with the 150 year sign and other memories, and I made a dash to the first restaurant, Hugo's Italian Kitchen. I got a slice of pepperoni pizza and cheese bread and we split it. Since this was kind of close to the entrance we'd come in from the Breakers (the on property hotel), our first ride like always was the Ocean Motion (or "Ocean Potion" because it was Halloween themed). This is the ride where you get on a ship and it swings you back and forth. It was a pretty short wait, only had to wait about 10 minutes which was pretty great. The next ride we wanted to go on was the Sky Ride (cable cars), but unfortunately it was closed (get used to this statement). Oh well. After the ride we found our way to what used to be Bearenstain Bear Land and is now Peanuts Land. When I was little this was THE place, and my favorite think was the sandbox backhoe thing (or as we called it, "the digger"). I apparently spent hours playing on it, because I wanted to make as big a hole as possible, and my uncle tried to bribe me to go do something else. Unfortunately the sandbox (or maybe it was a gravel box) wasn't there anymore, so mom and I spent time an appropriate amount of time looking for it but unsuccessfully. We did get to meet Sally from the Peanuts, which was fun.

After the bust with the digger we went over to what is kind of "the pier area," where it has a bunch of rides that are reminiscent of pier rides and carnival games. The funway arcade was in the area and while I didn't have any a lot of desire to spend the day playing arcade games, I might have wanted to play a round of pinball since I love pinball and it's not exactly easy to find anymore, and I remember it having a pretty good selection of games. Unfortunately they downsized A LOT and was more a mirror maze now. Oh well. The main things we did was ride "scrambler type" rides; troika and calypso. Troika is basically the normal scrambler but also goes up in the air in a fun way of the 3rd dimension. Calypso is also like the normal scrambler only it's on an angle and can only hold one person. It's pretty cool. We were going to ride MaxxAir, but unfortunately it was closed. After the rides it was time to eat again, and since we were close to the new Cedar Point Grand Pavilion Restaurant and Bar, and we had unlimited food, we decided to give that a try if we could. It presents itself as a high end restaurant and we were unsure if it was going to work for us, but it did support the meal plan and it was really high quality food. This time we got the steak and lobster bisque; I had the steak and mom had the lobster bisque. It was really good, and not just for amusement park food. We both thought "Gog and Pop (the grandparents on mom's side) would love this place."

Next ride I wanted to do was windseaker; the amusement park swing ride that goes up 300 feet in the air. Like, the amusement park swing ride is kind of "a step up from the carousel" where it lifts you up like 20 feet in the air and swings you around in seats on a chain, and while it's fun it's a very calm ride. Windseaker on the other hand is that, but they strap you in like a thrill ride, then it lifts you up 300 feet and swings you around high above everything else in the park. Like, it's scary because the only thing between you and death is a heavy metal cable. It's not even that fast, it's just "I am actually hanging high above the ground, this isn't an illusion like a roller coaster." Oh well, maybe next time. Since this is Halloweekends and we don't like getting scared, we worked our way to the "scary section" before it got scary. The "scary section" was in the back of the park so we started going back there with the plan that if there was a walk on we would ride it. While walking to the back in true Halloween fashion there was a graveyard decoration set-up, but the headstones were very creative. Instead of puns or famous people, it was rides that are no longer there. I got my picture with my favorite gone ride, the Demon Drop. It's a ride that puts you in a cage, drops you in a free fall that then angles into a slope, and then brings you back. When they were selling it a friend wanted to buy it and put it in his backyard. His backyard was really big (like a triple lot), so it's possible it could have fit, but there were probably zoning laws that would prohibit it, plus, it is probably a major power consumer and expensive. Here's my picture with the tomb stone.

On our way we road Iron Dragon, the smoothest and easiest roller coaster in the park probably. It's a fun hanging boat cart roller coaster, and it didn't take very long for us to get on. After Iron Dragon we found our way into frontier land (the start of the scary part), and while there wasn't much there we did find a fun family joke with pony rides (my my, aunt, and her cousins were at some place with pony rides and my one aunt didn't want to ride the pony, and it's been something everyone has teased her about for 50 years). There was also a peting zoo, and I petted a camel and a llama. One of the llamas had an underbite and I tried to do an impression of it.

We didn't find much else in frontier land, but we did find the wave swinger; the amusement park swings. Sure, it wasn't super great, but it was still a fun little ride. After that it was time to eat again, and we went to the Frontier Inn where we got pizza on a half role and a salad cup of grapes. It was good to have some fruit and split pretty well. After eating we went to the cedar creek mine ride; a mine cart themed roller coaster. It was a 20 or so minute wait, and it's an old ride that didn't really work for "modern American bodies" where we weren't really able to fit (mom couldn't get in and I barely got in and was rather uncomfortable the entire time). Oh well, wouldn't recommend. After that we made our way to the back of the park and there wasn't much for us. There were only 3 rides, Maverick, the train, and Steel Vengeance (Maverick and Steel Vengeance are both roller coasters). Maverick is a pretty new ride (12 years now) and has a 95 degree drop, but the fast pass line was a 45 minute wait and the stand by line was like 2 hours. Uhh no. Then Steel Vengeance was closed, and the train had to wait for the ride to get there and was just a train, so this area was kind of a bust.

We made our way over to the Camp Snoopy area where they have Gemini, Soring Eagles, Monster, and the Happy Fryer. We walked around Camp Snoopy because Camp Snoopy is great, a place for slightly older kids. We almost met Lucy in her witch costume, but it was right as she was leaving. I did get a picture with the therapy desk.

Camp Snoopy is mostly kids rides that we wouldn't be able to get on (camp bus, woodstock express, red baron airplane ride), but then there was Linus's Beetle Bug which is just the tilt-a-whirl. Mom was like "we don't have a kid" and said "it's just the tilt-a-whirl, they'll let us on," and they did let us on. I got kind of dizzy and remembered "I don't really like the tilt-a-whirl." After the ride we went to the Happy Fryer, a restaurant that specializes in French fries and corn dogs. I always wanted to try it since the mascot looks so friendly, but could never justify spending that much on fries. However, since we had the all day meal deal, we got the mini-corn dogs and fries. I'm not a big fan of corn dogs (if I eat a hot dog I want some char), but these were pretty good, and the fries were amazing. We each ate about half of the mini corndogs and half the fries.

After food we went to the pipe scream. It's a ride where it spins you around and goes on a half pipe back and forth. The other time we went on one of these rides was at Universal Studios in the Nickelodeon section. I remember my cousin didn't want to go on it because "it was in the little kid section," but we managed to convince him that it was an actual ride for big kids (because it is). It was quite fun. After that we went to the eagles ride, a kind of swing ride but where you control the beak and control how high and low you go. We were going to go on Gemini but it was closed. While waiting for the eagles we saw them test Gemini, and mom heard someone saying that the Gemini was opening up, and since I wanted to go on it I decided to get out of line and wait for it to open since it would be a walk on. Unfortunately it was just a rumor, and I waited around for about 20 minutes for it to not open. Oh well. After giving up on Gemini it was time to eat again and we went to BackBeatQue, a barbecue place. We got brisket and a salad. While I was getting the food Mom met a nice family and started dancing with them. It was the kind of fun thing that her recently deceased friend would have done, and she made a good temporary friend with the mom. The food was pretty good, a decent "normal restaurant quality." Cedar point is doing REALLY good with the restaurants and having "real food."

With this we're now out of the scary part of the park, back sweet dreams. There were some pretty cool pumpkin art pieces, and no more "scary clowns" things. There wasn't much in terms of rides on our walk for a while, but there was a lot of cool decorations, like the pumpkin art. The first ride we road was another classic, the Corkscrew. It's a really simple roller coaster, a hill and dip, a loop, and a cork screw that goes over the walking path. Can't say for certain, but it was likely one of the earliest looping rides in the park. After the corkscrew we went on the Super Himalaya. It's a ride that spins around going up and down while playing a vintage pop song. Really fun ride. Then we next ride was the Power Tower, a ride that drops you or shoots you up. It's also one of the few rides that can be seen from the Breakers, I remember watching it from our hotel room when I was little. Years ago I did the "shoots you up" one and didn't like it, so we did the "drop you" one. Since mom and I were 2 riders, we got pulled ahead of the line because there was an opening for 2 people. As we were riding it I regretted keeping my crocks on, they didn't fall off and if they did they would just fall down where there weren't any people (because safety zone for falling objects), but they didn't fall off so I was good. After Power Tower we went to Coasters, a diner themed restaurant that sells hamburgers, fries, onion rings, and some other things I don't remember. Mom and I got the cheeseburger and frings (half fries, half onion rings), and a pile of pickles from the condiment bar. Quite good. After dinner we watched a little bit of the live show just to say we did. In the past it was a laser light show and I really enjoyed it, but because Halloween it was a live stage concert. It was pretty good, the music was Halloween themed I think, and if it wasn't the costumes sure were.

Now we made our way over to the first "really big ride" of the day, Valravn. I think the story of this ride is it's like Norse or something, but whatever. It had a posted hour wait, but we were OK with that since we were kind of getting to the end of the rides we haven't done anyway, and the queue line time estimate didn't seem like it was getting updated. The wait was shorter than that, maybe like 45 minutes, so that was a bonus. However, even if it was an hour it was worth it. It's kind of an "open train" ride, where your seat is isn't in a ride car and there isn't much of a floor. But the real thing is that there's a 90 degree drop and multiple spins and loops. REALLY fun. After that I road the Blue Streak, probably the oldest roller coaster in the park and maybe one of the original ones. It's a very basic wooden one, big drop with some bumps and turns, but it's history and I had to ride it. Mom didn't join me though because the old rides hurt her, and I wasn't feeling the best afterwards either, but still fun. Since it was time to eat again we made our way back to Cedar Point Grand Pavilion so Mom could get the funnel cake shrimp, and I got the baked sweet potatoes because I like sweet potatoes some and wanted to see what these were like. They were a nice sweet side, but I'm not sure I'd get them again (texture was kind of weird for me). Once again, real food with the meal plan.

This is when things got pretty lucky. GateKeeper, one of the newer roller coasters which is another "open train" coaster with a left and right view of either Lake Erie or the park depending on which side you're on, had a 5 minute wait. Earlier in the day this had like a 1 hour wait, but now it was basically a walk on. We road on the one side that gave us a view of the park, and then we road on the side that gave us a view of the lake. It was really cool. After that we had maybe 1 ride left in us (it was like 11 PM now), and so we ended the day by riding the Giant Wheel (generic name for Ferris Wheel). Since it's a nice calm ride and everything would be lit up, we wanted to do this as our last event. It ended up being a good way to end the day since we were right, there was a lot to see. Because of science and balance we ended up riding around multiple times, but that was OK, gave us a lot of time to see things. After the wheel we went to wild mouse to see if it was a walk on but it wasn't and we were done. I got one last meal for the night back at the same restaurant we started at, Hugo's Italian Kitchen. I got a pizza pocket thing and a Caesar salad with the intention of eating it the following day. However when we got to our hotel I'm like "I want to see what this is like," and so I ate the pizza pocket thing and it was great, and then after showering I passed out because I was so tired.

The following day we had some continental breakfast and headed home. I was still really sleepy so I mom drove home while I slept. The only thing of interest is we didn't think about checking our gas so we had the fuel light come on and had to find gas quickly. Thankfully there was a gas station within eyeline of where we were and made it. Once we got home we said our goodbyes and went about our Sunday. It was a really fun day trip. We rode a fair amount of rides and gorged ourselves. I kept track of how much we saved using the dining plan, $109. Considering the meal plan was $33, we ate $142 retail worth of amusement park food. Granted, ever meal was like $16.50 or $21, and "not captive customer" prices would probably be $10 or $15 for what we got, but it's still an amazing deal. Multiple times I asked mom "I wonder what the high score is." And the Sunday after our fun I had like 1 actual meal because I was so full. Definitely worth it if you ever go to a Cedar Fair amusement park, but only get 1 band for 2 people. Even if you don't split everything like Mom and I did, alternating works well too. We basically paid for the hotel with what we saved in food, yay. This has been Pokematic, signing off, and bu-bye.