July 8-10 2015 with my wife and 2 girls, 11 and 9

Long time reader, first time poster here- Let me preface this by saying; My wife and I took our two girls, who are 11 and 9 now, to Halloweekends last year. They rode Blue Streak, Mean Streak and Maverick but refused to get on any other coasters and I made All the mistakes a thrill seeking parent can make with two 'finally 54 inches' kids. From showing my frustration with their fears to straight up bribery, etc, etc... No scolding of my behavior can match the guilt I felt afterward for acting like that though, so for this trip I made it all about the girls- It was their trip. I was just the driver, banker, security guard and ride partner. I gave them shifts- First 2 hours we do whatever the older girl wants to do, next two hours was for the younger girl with a ride for mom and dad in between shifts. The next day was reversed with my youngest having first shift. I can honestly say this was the best trip I've had at the point in 20 years! It turns out... My kids really know how to have a good time!

Wednesday started with a girl not knowing what window had the best view as I drove back to the SoakCity lot- I never knew there was a dance floor in my backseat. I noticed the stop and ped x-ng signs near the marina both have mini strobe lights around them now. That's good, I've nearly blown through those myself a couple times. I could already tell the 'shifts' idea was going to work out when the more timid of the two started asking questions about Magnum as we walked past and then surprised me when she said Mean Streak was her first choice! We figured out if you pull yourself forward to get your back off the seat for the drop after the trim section, it can be a really fun, painless ride. I still agree with whoever said MS will be alot more fun once they switch out those square wheels for round ones though. Next up was Maverick- I was leery about her choice after seeing the 1/4 mile line waiting for TTD to open, (no exaggeration either... it was at least 1/4 mile long) but was Very pleased and surprised to see the line for Mav was non-existent! Less then 5 minutes and we're being launched! So, she decided what Any sane person would- "We're gonna power ride until there's a line!" (her words... small tear of pride and joy slides down my cheek) 5 rides later she's done with Maverick and it's time for the long walk to BS. 4 times in a row, front seat there. My wife and I hit Raptor and GK during shift change and the lines weren't bad. 5 minute wait for Raptor, maybe 15 for GK. By now the crowds are showing up so it's time for ID and power ride that for about a half hour. Then a train ride back for MS again. Minus the power riding, the younger girl had basically the same plan of action and that's how Wednesday went- flats with MS, BS and ID with some souvenir shopping thrown in. The wife and I were able to hit Roo just before dark, Power Tower earlier in the day...

Thursday was rainy most of the day- No storms so, many of the rides were still operating. The crowds were smaller then they were on Wednesday but still larger than I expected them to be considering the weather and day of the week. I don't remember the play by play of the day but we had good time and Thursday afternoon was my first chance at Skyhawk when the younger girl added it to her schedule. I have a real 'love-hate' thing for that ride..... It's an Awesome feeling but there's no reason for me being face down... that high up- it just isn't right. Thursday was also platinum ERT for MF and Roo so I had my mind on that most of the day. Roo ERT was cancelled- weather related, I assumed. A little disappointing but I had gotten a ride in on Wednesday.

The rain was very light, almost just a mist by the time ERT started. Fog had rolled in and the tops of MF and TTD were just gone- In the clouds, couldn't see them. The girls parked on a bench with the wife and I got in line for ERT. I just wanted to ride so I didn't worry about front or back since mid-train was basically walk-on. Looking down from the top of the lift was the most eerie and coolest thing I've ever seen! The fog was reversed- I couldn't see the ground! The track led to nothing but a fog covered abyss and if Cedar Point can figure out how to add that element to MF permanently I may lose control of important body functions each and every time I ride from here on out! .....In a good way though. After my wife got her fix for the night while I sat with the girls, it was back to the hotel for much needed sleep.

We planned on leaving around noon on Friday. We'd go to the park, ride a bit until the weekend crowd showed up and we'd hit the road with some great memories but as the midway got more and more crowded we noticed the lines were Not. I don't know where all these people were coming from or going to but they were not waiting in lines. The girls wanted to power ride Troika and the bumper cars so my wife and I decided we needed a reminder of what each corner on GK was like and since there was no more than a 5 or 10 minute wait at 1pm on a sunny Friday... why wouldn't we? Leaving at noon turned into leaving at.... when we leave, which, turned into a great decision. The crowd was huge but the lines were short and my younger girl surprised the heck out of me when she said, "I wanna try Roo.. Rooba... Rrrr... How do you say it?" Her excitement and nervousness took me back to the first time I rode my first big coaster and I almost choked up a little bit. She was "Brave!" and she "Pushed that fear aside" is what she told me while waiting- Right up until the op pointed us to the last row... and she saw the seat.... and she knew it was do or die... She was half crying when she jumped into the seat but by the time we were at the top of the lift? All smiles and I couldn't be more proud of her right now.

We left Roo to get lunch at Johnny Rockets where I had a freezer burnt, then actually burnt, horrible burger on a day-old bun. 2 burgers, 2 cheese fries, 2 drinks... 50 bucks- holy crap. (note to self... do some simple 3rd grade math before ordering more than 1 item at cedar point) Sticker shock didn't last long- after finishing her drink the younger one states that since Roo is her new favorite ride, she wants to try GK. Awesome... Next, since GK is her new favorite ride, she wants to try Raptor. Double awesome...

All in all... The food needs some serious attention- food prices are outrageous for what you get (as far as quality)- the ride ops were in the zone for our whole trip- vendor and shop staff were all top notch- the shop prices are pretty much what was expected- cleanliness of the park is wonderful.

The older girl is still timid about the big stuff but she's getting there- I can tell by her questions and pauses when we walk by the bigger coasters that she's mulling it over and I think she'll make the leap on our next trip. The younger girl, in the span of 45 minutes on a Friday, has turned into a straight up... hardcore junkie.

I wanted my girls to have the same love for the point that I have- I grew up with that place. I introduced them to it All wrong last year though and I still regret it but this trip taught me some good lessons. Don't push your kids- They'll tell you when they're ready. Your memories are Yours- You're making new ones with them. Sometimes, letting a kid make the decisions is the best decision You can make because, as I said in the beginning, they know how to have a good time! I am So happy to say that my two girls showed me how to have the best day ever and we're all looking forward to the next trip already in the planning stage-

I agree with the Friday crowd. We saw the amount of people, so we decided to get out of the park for lunch and when we got back in about 3 pm, the midways were full, but GK wasn't even to the Left/Right divide and BS was in the station. Our longest wait of the Thurdsday/Friday trip was TTD for sure at about 55 mins.

Great Trip Report, thanks for sharing! In my latest trip to CP with my youngest (age 7), he randomly out-of-the-blue became a "hardcore junkie" as well. I was so ridiculously proud when were passing the Cedar Creek Mine Ride and, without any hint of fear, he entered the line and said "come on, Dad!" Thank goodness he just BARELY met the 48" height requirement! Later that day, we went on Iron Dragon to check off his first two "big" roller coasters.

"they'll tell you when" is true. My daughter,her friend,my nephew,my nieces' daughter all worked their way up thru the rides at Geauga Lake then Cedar Point. Daughter loves coasters and was at many coastermanias with me. She lives in Florida and hasn't ridden TTD yet so the next time she comes up. When I go down there,we usually do Busch Gardens.