For reasons I wasn't about to question, my sister Erica offered me two tickets to Cedar Point that she won from a local radio station, including a bus ride there and back. I couldn't turn down a free trip, especially since I have been bugging Tara for the past year or two to go, so Tyler and I took her up on the offer. We managed to make it to the radio station parking lot at 5:30am, according to plan. We were pleasantly surprised that they had donuts for us to eat, since we didn't really get up in the morning early enough to eat.

Once on the bus, we settled into our seats while the movie "Shrek" played on the TV's. The bus was equipped with a small TV every four or five rows on each side, as well as a VCR and DVD player. This kept us entertained for most of the trip, with the exception of the last 45 minutes or so. We were handed our tickets when we arrived at the park, and proceeded to enter (the only problem was that the park didn't open to riders until 10:00am, and we arrived shortly after 9:00am). After renting a locker, we browsed a couple of gift shops while waiting to be let in. Once they let us explore the park, we headed towards the "Cedar Creek Mine Ride", which was a ride that Tyler's friend Mikey had ridden when he came to the park earlier this year.

Entering the Park
Tyler in front of a fountain.	Tyler making a new friend (a bunny).

On our way to the mine ride, we stopped at "Camp Snoopy" to check out what they had there. Tyler decided that the rides here were too little for him, although he did give the "Peanuts 500" a try.

Camp Snoopy
Tyler sitting in his M&M's car.	Tyler circling around the track (sorry about the finger on top!).

From "Camp Snoopy" we headed to the mine ride, where Tyler got on his first big roller coaster.

Cedar Creek Mine Ride

Tyler (looking into the sun) going up a hill on the "Cedar Creek Mine Ride".

From the back of the park we continued on around the main circle of the park, stopping for a ride on "Wave Swinger" (the ride with the swings that go in circles, like a carousel only higher). We walked through the area I always called Frontiertown, although I see no mention of that on the map anymore.

Frontiertown

Tyler had been tried and convicted in record time!

Our next stop after Frontiertown was the "Iron Dragon", which seemed to be faster than the last time I rode it (I'm sure my memory isn't as good as I once thought it was). He seemed to enjoy this ride after the shock of the initial hill wore off and he got used to the idea of hanging below the rail. From there we hopped on the "Matterhorn" and the "Scrambler", ride types that he is familiar with from Applefest. We then took the "Sky Ride" to the front of the park, where we went to "Disaster Transport" for another first for Tyler. This time we were on an indoor coaster that mostly takes place in the dark. He didn't get too scared, but I don't think it was his favorite.

Tyler had decided that he wanted to eat at "Coasters Drive-In Restaurant" because it had a 50's theme with a couple of street rods out front, but since that was towards the middle of the park, I told him we had to go on the "Blue Streak" first. I don't know if this is taller than the mine ride or not, but he was not impressed. A little too much up and down motion, and he wasn't firmly held to his seat (he slid down pretty far, I had to help him sit back up once), so this one didn't rank high on his favorite list either.

I promised him lunch after that, and we were both looking forward to a good meal by then anyway. We walked back to "Coasters", where I proceeded to spend almost $20 for the two of us to have a horrible meal. I ordered a burger ($6), fries ($3), and a Pepsi ($3), while he got a corn dog meal ($5) and a diet Pepsi ($3). Grossest park food I think that I have ever eaten. The only redeeming quality to this restaurant is that you fill your own cups, so you can go back for more. I don't know if that was the plan, but we both took advantage of it (for a savings of $6, if you really think about it). It was at this moment that I decided that if we ever come to camp here for a night or two, as is our desire at some point, that every meal - minus snacks - will be eaten at the camper.

Coasters Drive-In Restaurant

Tyler sitting outside eating his meal. The inside dining room was too packed.

After eating we headed to the "Good Time Theater" to see "Snoopy's Summer Vacation", an ice show. Tyler must not have been too impressed, or was just really tired, because he fell asleep about halfway through the show.

Snoopy's Summer Vacation
Snoopy on ice.	Skating s'mores!

From the ice show we circled back around to the mine ride, stopping to watch the "Corkscrew" and "Magnum XL-200" in action. I offered to give Tyler $10 if he rode "Magnum", but I couldn't get him to take me up on the offer. We made it back to the mine ride, where we rode for a second time. This was the only repeat ride of the day that we had.

I checked the map once again after our last ride to see what else we could do when I noticed that Cedar Point had 25 cent cotton candy for the entire summer, so it quickly became Tyler's mission to find some. We walked the rest of the circle, back through Frontiertown, looking for someone carrying or selling cotton candy, going into the candy stores to see if they knew where to buy some, until we were almost ready to give up. While we were looking, I managed to convince Tyler to get on "Wildcat", another ride that he said Mikey had been on. He seemed to be ok with this one, mainly because it is a very smooth ride (his head didn't get whipped around too much, which he always seemed to bang into something - I had to start putting my arm around his shoulders just to stop it from happening). We also made a stop at "Dodgem", the bumper cars, while we continued our search.

After we got off of "Dodgem", we found someone carrying some cotton candy. After we asked where they got it, we made a bee-line to buy some, as well as another $3 pop. By this time it was getting close to dinner time, so we had to try to find something to eat. While we were looking around, we also managed to get into a few shops to souvenir hunt for Tyler and Sam (I felt guilty that I couldn't bring her). One of the stores that we went into was "Snoopy's Boutique", where some of the Peanuts are available for photos.

Snoopy's Boutique
Tyler with the "Great Pumpkin".	Tyler sitting with Snoopy.

We settled on "Kiddieland Refreshments" for dinner, where they serve "Freshly-Made Sandwiches and Salads, Hot Dogs, ICEE Frozen Beverages..." and a few other items. What a joke that was. I ordered Tyler a PB&J basket ($5) which included an almost frozen pre-made PB&J sandwich (the kind with the crust off and is circular in shape), a Dole fruit cup, and animal cookies, as well as a very small pop in a Snoopy cup. I got a hot dog basket ($4) which was a very small hot dog and a small bag of potato chips. I took Tyler's pop and got him a 16oz cherry ICEE ($3). Another horrible meal, and another vow to eat in the camper if we stay here in the future. By now it was getting close to the time we needed to get to the bus, so we went into a couple more souvenir shops where we finally settled on a shirt for Sam ($20). Tyler also decided it was a hat that he wanted, so we tried a couple on before he settled on his favorite ($13). We had time for one last ride, so we headed to the "Cadillac Cars", where Tyler took me for a nice drive around the track.

Cadillac Cars

Tyler driving his first Cadillac.

We were set to go, with the exception of our locker ($3), and the return of the key ($5 deposit). After we cleaned that out and got our money back, we took a couple of pictures before leaving.

Our Last Pictures
Tyler standing on the Midway on our way out.

Our bus ride home was uneventful. We were supposed to watch "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but the lady from the station let a boy who helped pass out some items to people pick a move and we ended up watching "The Terminal". Tyler was disappointed, but he watched the show and fell asleep shortly after it ended. We hit some construction, but managed to be back at the radio station lot at 11:15pm. By the time we got home, Tyler and I both were ready to crash, which we did without any problems tonight.