Forbidden Frontier on Adventure Island

MDOmnis said:

The one disappointment was the food stand out there did not have anything on the meal plan.

Odd. The park map from their website (and the in-print one I got there yesterday) seems to indicate that the food stand there does participate in the dining plan. Did they not honor it for you? I've never gone in there yet so I have no experience but they should honor what's on their maps. Either way, looking forward to checking out the land next week with my non-riding son.

That's interesting because I could have sworn hearing it was on the plan as well. No they didn't honor it for me, but I didn't really put up any fight either. Had I had a park map in my hand with this same info, it might have been worth pushing a bit, but I just assumed it was on purpose and I must be mis-remembering. I am sure they did not have the meal plan indicators on the menu boards which is why I asked. Hopefully they do end up honoring the meal plan there eventually.

There "out" is food stands and menu items can change without notice.

Sollybeast said:

Encouraged, eh? :D The overgrown kid in me is pleased at this and shall partake. Man, I wish I could fast-forward past this week to next week so I could be there already.

Spent some time in the play structure yesterday chasing the 3-year-old nephew. The slides were quite fun for all of us, and we probably would have spent all day there if we hadn't reminded him Camp Snoopy awaited.

Scott Cameron said:

MDOmnis said:

The one disappointment was the food stand out there did not have anything on the meal plan.

Odd. The park map from their website (and the in-print one I got there yesterday) seems to indicate that the food stand there does participate in the dining plan. Did they not honor it for you? I've never gone in there yet so I have no experience but they should honor what's on their maps. Either way, looking forward to checking out the land next week with my non-riding son.

When I was there on Sunday the 2nd, the employee at the stand promised me they would be on the Meal Plan as of 6/3. That they were for some reason having trouble with the POS system getting it to work with the meal plan.

Seemed like an odd explanation. As other new locations such as BackBeatQue had no issues honoring the meal plan opening day. As this point in the game with the meal plan in its 4th or 5th year I can't think of reasons it wouldn't just.. work. But what do I know. lol Maybe the network cables were installed upside down preventing the meal plan to work.

I was gonna head back on 6/3 but my plans got canceled last minute so I can not confirm anything changed.

Thanks for the replies. Looking forward to checking out the land this weekend.

There are now three things on the meal plan at this location: shrimp, char broiled sirloin, and mini corn dogs/fries.

Sirloin? As in steak? Nice! Didn't expect that one. Thanks for the update.

Early last week, the Meyer clan took their annual early-season trip to Cedar Point, and I thought I would highlight our experience(s) on Adventure Island to help people better understand how it all works. During our 4-day trip, we spent some time on the Island during three of them, each with something different to offer. As far as not understanding how it all works, I'm not sure where the confusion comes in, aside from the reality that it really is an ever-changing attraction that will be different for everyone. So just to be clear: there is no one singular quest to go on, not one singular thing to find, or one singular adventure that one needs to take. People have compared it to a choose-your-own-adventure book, and that is a great comparison.

DAY ONE:

This will be easy. The first day, we simply wanted to grab a beer and relax while the girls played on the playground. We also wanted to get a feel for the whole place and take it in before exploring more the next day. A couple quick impressions: 1) The theming (in its scale and level of detail) is something I have never seen at Cedar Point. It will look even better once the new wood fades a bit, but make no mistake, the island looks fantastic. 2) The playground is everything. It's Kid Arthur's Court on steroids. Fun was had.

More on day two (where the fun really begins) in a bit.

Coming from a 31 year old lady with a 6 year old niece, I'm pretty excited about the playground. I could pass on everything else, but the playground sounds like a good time.

I had a chance to check this out myself out, even ran into jimmyburke out there. I think this is well executed. I managed to find a scroll with a clue on it. I even went on the playground, even though I'm 33. I could easily spend a good amount of time out there. The characters were well immersed into their stories. My one concern was how I saw some antique props sitting out there. Some places aren't even really monitored. Nothing stops someone from stuffing one of these props into their bag. When I came back through the newsstand, I saw some camera props were missing. I hope one of the characters took them and not some punk.

Kevinj said:

Early last week, the Meyer clan took their annual early-season trip to Cedar Point.

That's awesome that you mentioned my last name lol. I ventured through Forbidden frontier with my friends for the second for me and I found it very relaxing. What I found cool is how they pay tribute to how things used to before we became all modernized in today's world. Also like Thabto said, I loved the big giant playground in the middle of it all. I'm 34 years old, but when I go through this area, I feel like I'm 10 years old again. I think they did a great job making the old shoot the rapids station show some nostalgia to it. If you look closely in certain areas, you can tell where the troughs used to travel around. Great Job on this area Cedar Point!

Thabto said:

... Some places aren't even really monitored. Nothing stops someone from stuffing one of these props into their bag. When I came back through the newsstand, I saw some camera props were missing. I hope one of the characters took them and not some punk.

True, I'm sure the park is prepared for this.

But part of the fun is the characters send you on missions or do favors. A lot of the time those favors are taking props from one character to another. A family before us was asked to take a old tea kettle to.. someone. So it's very possible and hopefully most likely that the props just were taken somewhere else as part of the "show."

DAY TWO:

It all started with a game.

Like the previous day, we were going to let the girls explore the playground while we relaxed for about an hour. It was around 1:30 or so when I noticed something starting to happen on the “Middle Ground” stage where the two opposing clans come together each day to have their contests and closing ceremony (each day at 6:00). It was a game, and I gathered the girls who ended up joining Whispers Perez who was in charge of the Wapi clan. The goal was to pass water from person to person over your head to fill a bucket. It was hilarious to watch, and the Wapi won this little challenge.

Then it happened. Someone ran on stage and exclaimed the treasure map had been stolen, and all the kids gathered around were officially deputized and given a mission; ask all the villagers where they were at 1:35 PM (when it was stolen), and bring back any intel to Etta Fox at the command post. OK.

We started talking to the villagers, and I’ll give you the cliff-notes version of what happened. We met Augustus, the richest man on Adventure Island. He has a daughter who is an artist, and after pleading with our girls that he was in his home at 1:35, he told them that if they can find the three two-digit numbers hidden in his daughter's art, they might be able to crack his safe. Daddy (that’s me) got into puzzle-solving mode, and we scoured the hut for the artwork and hidden numbers. After a few more steps involving the numbers and some colors, we cracked his safe, and as a reward we got a loan agreement to take to Whispers Perez who is the first mate on the Contessa; a grounded ship on the island.

The loan was now signed over to my daughter, Kylah. We made our way around the island, (Hello, Otis!), and every villager tried to trade us (unsuccessfully) everything from dynamite, fish, fake jewelry, rocks, etc. for the loan agreement. As we traversed, we saw kids carrying everything from giant veggie baskets, fake fish, gold bars, you name it….running back and forth from character to character on their own personal missions. My wife and I found ourselves totally immersed with our girls having fun going on our own personal quest. What was supposed to be an hour beer-break turned into a couple hours of interacting with the characters on the island trying to figure out what happened.

Alas, the girls wanted to get back to riding some rides, so we all agreed to keep the loan agreement for the next day, when we would also try to catch the closing ceremony. On the way out, Etta Fox got her full report from our girls from everyone we talked to about their whereabouts. They pointed to the Contessa’s ship captain as the main culprit….hmmm…

The takeaways from this day?

• I cannot emphasize this enough. The acting these folks are doing on the island is superb. 100% in character, and each and every one was very good with interacting with kids and adults alike everywhere. Even if you’re not into it, I recommend you take a walk back there just to talk to them a little; you’ll be impressed.

• This is when we finally “got it”. There are countless little quests and adventures to get set on by the various actors. In fact, I got the vibe that they were really having fun with one another, with one character sending kids on a mission to another and so forth…it seems really well executed and also improvised to keep the experiences fresh.

• It just bears repeating. I thought the playground was nice, but the people inhabiting the island are what makes this place tick.

More on day 3 in a bit…

Like KevinJ, we anticipated spending 30-40 minutes on the island to let our 6 and 8 year old daughter run around the playground. After 3 hours, my girls stated that they didn't want to ride any more rides because they "needed" to discover who stole the map! It was great fun. Other than the immense noise from both Top Thrill Dragster and Millennium Force, the island is great and Forbidden Frontier well executed (the food was good too!)

These stories are great. We walked around this weekend on the insanely busy Saturday 6/8. Didn't interact but it looks great. Did the ropes thing to get across which was fun.

DAY THREE:

Well, now we had a loan agreement to return, and we promised the girls we would check out the daily closing contest and ceremony at 6:00. This was the first day the lines for the rafts that you pull yourself over on the island were bearable, so we chose this way of getting to the frontier. We dropped off the loan agreement to Whispers, and in return she gave both of our daughters a Wapi coin-memento to take home (along with the promise to make payments to Kylah on-time). Then we took a little time to explore some of the little nooks and crannies of the island we hadn’t before…there are a lot to discover.

And then it was off to the closing ceremony. To our girls’ shock (really), Whispers Perez confessed to stealing the map, but was thankfully spared any prison time in good faith (whew!).

The Wapi clan won the last contest, and to top it all off (and with Blackjack’s blessing), Chess got married to the captain of the Contessa, followed by about 15 minutes of singing and dancing with the kids.

The time we spent on the island was time very well spent. It's enjoyable that the level of immersion and the experience you have is entirely up to you.

If you get the chance, even if you think it's not for you, take a stroll through the village and see what it has to offer. I also hope this is not the end of Cedar Point working with Garner Holt (of Knott's)...I have a feeling some of the nice (however subtle) touches on Mine Ride are also tied to them.

I'm officially done complaining about a lack of quality things for families to enjoy together. For now. :)

How do you know Garner Holt was involved with FF?

It was mentioned in one of the articles from the Sandusky Register. It's linked in one of these threads. I'm hoping they keep working together on future projects.

I meant to stay an hour or two and stayed all afternoon. I can't describe how fun and engaging FF is. It's something you have to try for yourself.

(As a side note, I would protect Digger with my LIFE. His actor plays him so sweet and aw-shucks that I found him to be the island's most endearing character. Also Otis. Otis is a riot. XD )