Little Cedar Point Facts/Info

Thanks :)

There used to be a German Beer Garden to the left of the Main Entrance. It's still there as a picnic pavilion, but not nearly as much fun :-).

In the main midway, there was a 'make your own t-shirt' shop...Where you could pick iron-on slogans for the front or rear. My best friend and I had a 'draft beer, not war' tshirts made (with our names on the back) in the late 70s/early 80s.

The main midway had a series of beautiful floral gardens, not just a smattering of flowers like now.

Ahh zombie thread, and one I started xD

It was a good read. Thanks for the resurrection.

I also enjoyed re-reading this thread. Here are a couple new ones.

There used to be custom painted ride signs at the entrance to most rides. They were all cartoons and were specific to the ride. Walt has pictures of them in the photo section of the site. They were replaced with generic signs with a lot more legal jargon.

When Mantis opened in 1996, it had no seat belts and no air gates in the station. This allowed it to operate with 3 trains. Later with the addition of seat belts and gates, the 3rd train was no longer viable and it was retired to use for parts.

Cedar Point still has 3 different antique car rides, which is probably the most at any park anywhere. It is funny that year after year, other rides are removed to make way for new ones, but never a car ride. Kings Island at one time also had 3, but all have been removed.

Mine Ride was designed to run 5 trains when it originally opened in 1969.

There used to be willow trees in Mine Ride's infield, but most of them were killed by a major tornado that hit the park sometime in the 70's. The infield is now mostly empty.

Magnum was re-profiled in its 2nd year of operation. The 3rd hill was altered to be lower (I think).

Does anyone else remember the old Causeway sign? If I remember correctly, it had each letter (eg. "C", E", "D"...) on a square piece of wood.

Yes, it was a better sign than what they have now. Someone posted a short video clip of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0ymed_sz9Y

There also used to be a big sign directing people to the park at the Chausee on Rt 6. I've seen old pictures of it with lamp posts and fancy gardens around it. The fancy garden and lamp posts have been gone for a long time but I remember seeing the sign into the 90's. First time the sign wasn't there I was thinking something is missing but I'm not sure what. Then I saw the picture and of course the light bulb went on. I get the impression they would rather we don't go that way anymore...

There is a basement under the Hotel Breakers. It is under the front hallway between the main entrance and the Rotunda. And yes it is dry.

Demon Drop and Wildcat sat where Gatekeeper is now. Wildcat moved to its last resting place (across from the current Luminosity stage) when Disaster Transport (Avalanche) opened. The Rotor was situated where the AirMax basketball courts now stand (across from the stadium).

Blue Streak did not originally have lap belts or fitted seats. It was a single bench seat with a single orange straight lap bar. You could get a dangerous amount of lift if you knew how to position your feet and knees when they did the safety check.

What was demolished/moved for Soak City? Parking lots?

And, how many different tag lines can we remember. Have a great day at...

Sunny Cedar Point
America's Roller Coast

I believe GateKeeper is the fifth coaster to be located in that (approximate) area. Before Disaster Transport/Avalanche Run and Wildcat (originally located where the Aquatic Stadium is today) were Jumbo Jet and Cedar Point's Cyclone, which opened back in 1926.

Demon Drop sat where Ocean Motion is now

Tag line...

The Amazement Park

Where Raptor's lift hill and station are now was previously the location of the Mill Race, the second log flume ride ever built. During the 1979 season, Cedar Point flirted with corporate sponsorships, and the ride was named the Nestea Plunge that year. (It was a reference to Nestea's advertising campaign at the time.)

Matterhorn was also by the Jumbo Jet.

How about this fact? I was thinking about how I got to ride Mine Ride and Matterhorn at 3 or 4 years old with my father, as well as Cedar Downs, now they have a 48 inch minimum height requirement. I started to try to look up height requirements during the 70's and the closest I found was this map:

http://www.rollercoasterfreak.com/CP_Brochures/1981_pg_map.jpg

Look at the box titled "For your safety and convenience"

There really was no height requirement for years for many of those rides but accompanied by an adult, only a few had 48", check out Witches Wheel, which now is at 54". No hand held infants basically, not unlike what we experienced at Idlewild a few years ago when our kids were young and many of these same type of rides and coasters we took 2-5 year olds on there. And they wonder why they need to attract families again.

Am I the only one that momentarily sees "Little Caesars" instead of "Little Cedar" when I first glance at the title of the thread?

Either I'm getting old or it's time for a pizza night.

Ryan H said:
Does anyone else remember the old Causeway sign? If I remember correctly, it had each letter (eg. "C", E", "D"...) on a square piece of wood.

That sign makes me think of the day we stood across the Causeway during "Hands Across America". I had to google it since I was only 10 but for those of you who remember, it was in 1986. Looking back, I can't believe we blocked the entrance to the Point, although I don't remember how long we stood there. I think we sang a song or something?

3snoH un=l said:
How about this fact? I was thinking about how I got to ride Mine Ride and Matterhorn at 3 or 4 years old with my father, as well as Cedar Downs, now they have a 48 inch minimum height requirement. I started to try to look up height requirements during the 70's and the closest I found was this map:

http://www.rollercoasterfreak.com/CP_Brochures/1981_pg_map.jpg

Look at the box titled "For your safety and convenience"

There really was no height requirement for years for many of those rides but accompanied by an adult, only a few had 48", check out Witches Wheel, which now is at 54". No hand held infants basically, not unlike what we experienced at Idlewild a few years ago when our kids were young and many of these same type of rides and coasters we took 2-5 year olds on there. And they wonder why they need to attract families again.

Its hard to believe that used to be the policy. For my brothers and I, the Mine Ride was the first "big" roller coaster we ever rode. As long as you had an adult with you, it was no problem, so we went on that ride when we were 4-5 years old.

I believe in the early mid 80s, a child fell from the Mine Ride into the lagoon. The story I remember hearing was that a guest jumped in and rescued the kid. Not sure of the veracity of that story but either way that policy was phased out.

Another fun ride as a kid was the Blue Streak when it had the single lap bar over both seats. Seeing as how my dad at the time was 6'4", 280 lbs, being a little kid made it seem as if the restraints weren't going to hold me in!

I looked up the story, it is true. I couldn't find the cause, though. Anyway, based on that, check out the 1984 park brochure "safety and convenience section vs. 1985.

http://www.rollercoasterfreak.com/CP_Brochures/1984_pg_fold3.jpg

http://www.rollercoasterfreak.com/CP_Brochures/1985_pg_inside.jpg

Sections of the main parking lot used to be named after CP rides.