Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio, had a big reputation to live up to. The kids and I have wanted to go for years and waited patiently for everyone to be tall enough to fully enjoy the park. It did not disappoint.

We went to Cedar Point on a Friday. They were open from 10am to midnight. We arrived at 10am sharp and got right in with minimal hassle, just a quick security check and scanning our tickets at the gate. We picked up a park map and headed straight for the back. Our plan of attack was to start at the newest ride, Steel Vengeance, and work our way forward to the front. Only one ride was closed while we were there, Dragster, which disappointed the kids because they were looking forward to that specific ride. The park is massive. We got to Steel Vengeance at 10:30. The wait time was an hour and 20 minutes, our longest wait of the day.

Steel Vengeance was the favorite ride for most of us, and those of us who didn’t put it first, put it second. It’s a wood, steel hybrid coaster. It’s smooth as can be and keeps you guessing as to where and in what direction you’re going. It contains everything a coaster should have between the high drops, intense speed, and dips and turns going every which way making the entire 2 and a half minute ride exhilarating and high thrill.

We went on 21 different rides and then went back to our favorites at the end of the night. Some of our other favorites were the Maverick, Magnum 200-XL, Millennium Force, Valravn, and Gate Keeper. The engineering on these rides is outstanding, I walked off every one of them amazed at how awesome each next ride was.

Two rides deserve special mention. The first is Wicked Twister. We had mixed reviews of this ride. Rebecca and I sat together because we were equally terrified. I didn’t think it was as and as it looked and was relieved. I wasn’t impressed with the ride and probably wouldn’t ride it again, it just didn’t do much for me. Basically I believed its bark was worse than its bite. Rebecca on the other hand, started crying a few seconds into the ride and didn’t stop until she was off. She found it to be terrifying and wouldn’t go on it again for the opposite reason that I wouldn’t. The Skyhawk is the second ride that deserves mention. Vanessa didn’t ride it because she was too scared. I didn’t think it looked too bad. Then I got on. And it started. And I was in sheer terror, grasping at the back of my seat for dear life. My anxiety took over and I was pretty sure those were the last moments of my life. It was terrifying and I couldn’t do that again. Rebecca laughed during the ride taunting me saying, “come on, Mommy, put your hands up! Put your hands up, it’s cool!”

We all agreed that we didn’t care for the Corkscrew, it wasn’t smooth, shook our heads around, and didn’t do anything for us thrill wise. It was the only ride we didn’t care for besides the previously mentioned Wicked Twister and the Wave Swinger.

The lines were much shorter than I had anticipated. Steel Vengeance was our longest wait time at an hour and 20 minutes. The next longest was the hour and 5 minute wait for Maverick and the hour long wait for Millennium Force. Other than that, some rides were a few minutes, some up to 20 minutes and some we walked right on. I never expected that.

We had tickets with a meal included and we all agreed the food was great. There were lots of choices including Italian, Chinese, and your typical burgers and chicken strips. They also sell a drink bottle with free refills for $15. We bought one and shared it, definitely getting our money’s worth.

I’ll leave you with this advice, wear comfortable shoes, bring sunscreen, and carry a park map with you.