Thursday, April 30, 2009
By John Benson
Keep your hands inside the car and look at what’s new at the region’s fun spots.
With the weather turning warmer and the kids getting antsy, vacation time is right around the corner. However, the tricky economy might have families rethinking the big summer excursion this year and in its place scheduling a few one-tank trips. Naturally, amusement parks are a popular destination, where tight budgets can receive some relief by packing lunches and looking for deals. Here’s a look at the big four amusement parks in our area and what they have to offer this summer.
Cedar Point
One Cedar Points Drive, Sandusky
Call (419) 627-2350 or visit www.cedarpoint.com
Located on the scenic shores of Lake Erie in Sandusky, Cedar Point boasts 364 acres that feature 75 rides, including 17 roller coasters, which is more than any park in the world. Admission: $43.99 (ages 3 to 61, 48 inches and taller) & $19.99 (ages 3 to 61, under 48 inches tall) and seniors (age 62 and older). $29.99 for Cedar Point Starlight admission (valid after 5 p.m. when Cedar Point closes after 10 p.m. and valid after 4 p.m. when Cedar Point closes earlier than 10 p.m.). Cedar Point will open for the season May 16.
“I think there’s certainly plenty to see and do at Cedar Point,” said Robin Innes, Cedar Point director of public relations. “In fact, there’s enough to see and do if you’re looking for a mini-vacation or a getaway weekend. This is the place because everybody will have fun, regardless of your age. It’s a great place for family time.”
What’s New?
“We’ve got a brand-new nighttime exhibit called Starlight Experience,” Innes said. “It’ll be a new themed lighted walkway along the Frontier Trail that will be opening around Memorial Day weekend. We turned a portion of the trail into a canopy of lights. It’s going to be about $1 million to design and install, and it’ll be something everybody, guests of all ages, will enjoy. And it’s something very different for us and will complement the Hot Summer Lights nighttime show we put on every night.”
What’s Old?
“I think there is something for everybody at the park,” Innes said. “There’s a lot to see and do, and if you like the big roller coasters, we certainly have that. We’ve got family rides, special areas where like last year we introduced Planet Snoopy for the young family, and of course, that joins Camp Snoopy that we opened 10 years ago.”
What’s Thrilling?
“I’d say thrill seekers have a huge assortment to choose from,” Innes said. “Talk about height and speed, you have Top Thrill Dragster, which is 42 stories tall and hits 120 miles an hour. We also have Millennium Force, 310 feet tall and 93 miles an hour with big drops and big hills. And if you want something different, you go Maverick that we opened in 2007.”
What’s Fun?
“I think there are several family traditions,” Innes said. “We have three different carousels and the sky ride that takes you over the midway so you get a great view of the park, Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie. Also, the Cedar Points Lake Erie Railroad is something that everybody rides.”
What’s Tasty?
“We’ve got French fries, great ice cream, tacos,” Innes said. “Just a lot of good food to choose from and for something more substantial, there’s great seafood and steaks in The Bay Harbor in the Cedar Point Marina.”
Kennywood Park
4800 Kennywood Blvd., West Mifflin, Pa.
Call (412) 461-0500 or visit www.kennywood.com
First opened in 1898 as a trolley park at the end of the Monongahela Street Railway, Kennywood Park boasts an 80-acre property with more than 30 big rides and more than a dozen Kiddieland attractions. Admission: $33.99/Funday Pass, $20.99/Junior Funday Pass (Under 46”) and $16.99/Senior Funday Pass. For entrance after 5 p.m., $18.99/Night Rider Pass and $9.99/Senior Night Rider Pass. Kennywood will be open the weekend of May 8 through 10, with the park’s summer schedule beginning May 13.
“Obviously, people have been coming to Kennywood for over 100 years,” said Kennywood Spokeswoman Mary Lou Rosemeyer.” And the reason is, it’s just plain fun. It’s fun for little kids, teenagers, parents and for grandparents. And it makes memories. Kennywood is really the best of both worlds: the old time favorites, as well as what’s new, exciting and cutting edge.”
What’s New?
“Actually, what’s old is new,” Rosemeyer said. “We’re bringing back an old favorite, the Bayerne Curve. It’s part of the tradition here and it’s been so much fun. You sit in cars facing forward and you go around a bobsled type track faster and faster and faster. It’s really one of the all-time favorites. So that’s coming back and has been totally redone and repainted. Also, the old Kennywood Railroad is getting a big facelift and changing themes. It’s now going to be a trip back through Kennywood’s history. We also have new entertainment this summer with a group of BMX stunt riders called Maximum Velocity.”
What’s Old?
“Certainly, the coasters are one of the first things,” Rosemeyer said. “We have the very best array of classic wooden coasters that exist in the country. Three that were originally built in the 1920s and those coasters remain at the top of coaster enthusiast lists from around the world. And there’s only one Kangaroo left in the world, and that’s at Kennywood.”
What’s Thrilling?
“Thrill seekers do gravitate to the coasters, of course, like The Cosmic Chaos, which is an amazing ride,” Rosemeyer said. “There’s also Aero 360, which has the thrill of a rollercoaster looping without the coaster because you go around and around. We have enough thrill rides to fill in a whole day.”
What’s Fun?
“Garfield’s Nightmare, which was originally The Old Mill and has been around since 1902, is a ride that people just continue to enjoy,” Rosemeyer said. “And of course The Turtle is one you just can’t help but laugh through. And that’s one of the very few left in the country. And then there’s Kiddieland for all of the kids.”
What’s Tasty?
“The park food is another biggie that brings people back year after year,” Rosemeyer said. “Potato Patch French fries are always a favorite. In fact, people come to Kennywood solely for those fries and funnel cakes. We have fabulous ice cream and custards. There is really something for everyone here. Every type of food that you like we have, and we have them at very reasonable prices.”
Kings Island
Kings Island Dr., Mason
Call (800) 333-8080 or visit www.visitkingsisland.com
Located 30 minutes north of Cincinnati, the 364-acre Kings Island amusement and water park (Boomerang Bay) features more than 80 world-class rides, shows and attractions. Admission: $32.99 adult (ages 3-61; over 48”), $29.99 junior/senior (Ages 3 & up and under 48” & Ages 62 & up) and $24.99 starlight (after 5:00 p.m.). Tickets are cheaper through the Web site. Kings Island is now open weekends with summer hours beginning May 22.
“We think Kings Island is the best value around,” said Kings Island Public Relations Area Manager Don Helbig. “You get 12 hours of entertainment. We have 80 rides, shows and attractions and we really have something for everyone. We have a 15-acre water park that’s free with your park admission. We have an eight-time award-winning kids area so the families of young children can spend a full day just in that area alone. It’s just a tremendous value for the parents and one of those things that coming to Kings Island you just build up those memories that will last a lifetime.”
What’s New?
“New for us is the $22 million Diamondback,” Helbig said. “It’s our tallest, fastest, most aggressive rollercoaster in the park. It stands 230 feet and has a first drop of 215 feet at a 74 degree angle. It reaches speeds up to 80 miles per hour and has all of the elements you look for in a great rollercoaster. It has the height, speed and incredible air time throughout the ride with the twists and turns and ends with a spectacular splashdown ending. The trains have cups right before the backseat and that sprays water up in the air close to 50 feet. It’s a great visual. You don’t get wet if you’re riding, but it’s more of a visual.”
What’s Old?
“The Beast turns 30 this year, and it’s still arguably the top wooden coaster in the world right now and still the longest wooden roller coaster at 7,400 feet,” Helbig said. “Prior to Diamondback, it was the most popular ride in the park for the last 30 years. So that ride is back, and we also have Firehawk in its third season. It’s Ohio’s only flying coaster, so that’s another popular attraction for us.”
What’s Thrilling?
“Other than Diamondback and The Beast, if you’re looking for other scare elements, we’ve got the Vortex,” Helbig said. “It’s been around for 22 seasons, but it’s still a ride where you go through six inversions and a drop tower that’s 315 feet tall. That’s a ride that would fall into that scare category. And we also have a ride called Delirium, that’s like a swinging ship and it goes back and forth with a lot of intensity and speed.”
What’s Fun?
“A ride since 1972 that’s been a family tradition is The Racer,” Helbig said. “It was the park’s first rollercoaster and it was returned last year back to its original form as a racing coaster (with two tracks racing each other). One side had gone backwards for 26 years, but it was flipped back around so it’s running the way it was supposed to and intended to back in 1972 when it was built. You see fathers taking their kids on that as their first kind of big roller coaster ride.”
What’s Tasty?
“It’s the taste of Cincinnati, basically, when you come to Kings Island,” Helbig said. “We have Skyline Chili, where you can get the three or four ways, or a cheese Coney. That’s really popular. We also have LaRosa’s Pizza and Graeter’s Ice Cream; both are Cincinnati traditions.”
Waldameer Park & Water World
220 Peninsula Dr., Erie, Pa.
Call (814) 838-3591 or visit www.waldameer.com
Located at the neck of Presque Isle State Park peninsula, Waldameer Park and Water World offers free admission and parking. While individual ride tickets are available, ride wristbands for Waldameer Park are $20.45 (Over 48”)/$ 12.95 (Under 48”). Entrance to Water World is $15.45 (Over 48”)/$10.95 (Under 48”). Ride wristbands for both parks are $22.95 (Over 48”)/$16.95 (Under 48”). The park boasts an after 7 p.m. special of $15 (Over 48”)/$10 (Under 48”). Waldameer Park opens weekends May 9 with daily operation starting June 2. The park is closed on Mondays (except Memorial Day and Labor Day).
“This summer people should come out because we’re easy to get to, our prices are reasonable and all our parking is free,” said Waldameer Park and Water World Owner Paul Nelson. “We’re really a family institution, and the park has really changed quite a bit in the last five years because of our growth.”
What’s New?
“For this year we’re putting in the $1.5 million Mega DiscO,” Nelson said. “It’s a very exciting ride. It lifts you up at either end 50 feet in the air and spins you in two different directions. You’re riding in a large disc that rotates in one direction and then spins and rotates in another direction. It holds 24 people per disc. The track is 120 feet, and it goes straight up in both ends.”
What’s Old?
“We’re a family park with beautiful gardens,” Nelson said. “And it’s free parking, free admission. You only pay for what you want to use. We’re one of the few parks left in the country that operates that way. And because the number of people bringing picnics is growing, we are adding two more picnic groves.”
What’s Thrilling?
“Last year we put in a Ravine Flyer II rollercoaster,” Nelson said. “And in our industry it was voted the best new ride in the world. It was a real honor. We beat out the major parks like Cedar Point and other big ones. We also have a drop tower X Scream, where you go up in the air and drop 100 feet or so. We have a spinning steel coaster called Steel Dragon. That’s a great ride.”
What’s Fun?
“We have flume ride Thunder River, which sends you up a hill and up a trough,” Nelson said. “And you get quite wet, but it’s a real family ride. We have 20 boats that float around the flume. We also have a train track that goes around half the park and takes about 15 minutes. Of course, there are the carousel and bumper cars and things like that.”
What’s Tasty?
“Our big thing is funnel cake,” Nelson said. “We’ve greatly expanded our funnel cake menu. It’s one of our biggest sellers. They’re really good because they make you fat. It’s delicious. It’s sinful, filled with sugar and all of that stuff.”