The others in my clan are making their first visit. We have two kids, one not-quite-four, and one not-quite-two. Neither is yet 42", though I notice that many rides include the possibility of riding "accompanied by a responsible person." Based on my recollection, I'm not sure I'd be willing to take my kids on most of these rides just yet, which brings me to my question. Which "adult" rides would you consider bringing your kids on? Which would you avoid at all costs? My default answers are "almost none" and "almost all", though I'm interested in hearing others' experiences, particularly since the eldest has not yet met a carnival ride that she did not like.
-Brian
*** This post was edited by Brian Noble 8/1/2002 5:25:10 PM ***
I would bring them on Woodstock Express. The ride is very smooth yet fun. I believe the requirement is 36.". All the rides in Camp Snoopy are "kid approved" and some look kinda fun. White Water Landing would also be a good one.
As for the larger "spin and pukes" like Matterhorn and Troika Troika Trioka, those may be questionable. It all depends if thier stomach can take it.
Woodstock Express is a definate. Great kid size coaster. My daughter rides hands up the whole time.
*** This post was edited by loriu 8/1/2002 7:27:00 PM ***
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...and enjoy the rest of your day at Cedar Point, The Am-aaaa-zement park!
If there's doubt wether your kid will enjoy a ride or not, ride it yourself first then determine from there. You know your kid best. But if they say "no" don't force them. That's a great way to turn them off to rides.
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- John
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"Wheres the Callahan factory?!?!?"
And every spin-and-spue they can manage.
Don't forget Thunder Canyon, too.
If they're sticklers for coasters or easily dizzied, it just might be a long, long day.
-'Playa
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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
As for other rides, Camp Snoopy, Kiddy Kingdom and the Gemini Children's Area are good places, and for the more adult flat rides, I would suggest reading the White and Gray Rider Safety Signs at the entrance. They give the height requirements at the top of the signs
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- Chris -
http://www.thepointOL.com/~simplycp
2002 ATL Monster/Witches' Wheel
*** This post was edited by Flisk 8/2/2002 1:38:39 AM ***
As for "what to take them on"..I have always had the feeling let the kid decide themselves...Kids can and will surprise you by what they will and won't ride.(heck I have a 52.1 inch daughter who LOVES Power Tower but still hasn't ridden MF:()
Be sure to also stop at Park Op for the "Parent Swap Pass" This will allow someone in your group to wait with the little ones while you are on the roller coaster of choice and then that person can walk up the exit to ride.
Above all, ENJOY:)
Recap: we have a not-quite-four-year-old, and a not-quite-two-year-old. Both show signs of fearlessness, boding well for current and future trips. Both think they need fewer nap opportunities than they actually need.
With kids this small, staying on-point is a *huge* win, for two reasons. First, getting back to the hotel room for a mid-afternoon nap (definitely for the kids, probably for the parents) is great. The first day, the kids had shortish naps, as they did not sleep well in the car on the way. By mid-evening, they were ready for nuclear meltdown. The second two days (with 2 hour naps from 2-4) were much smoother. Second, if you have a parent (or two) who wants to ride the coasters, the early admission for resort guests is a good way to get a few walk-ons on popular rides. For example, I got three walk-on trips on Raptor before the GP built a line at 9:45 (one in the front seat---completely different experience than anywhere else in the train!) and three more walk-ons on Maggie between 10:00 and 10:40 or so. I found that getting a few coasters in before the kids came in to the park was better than trying to ride during nap time; I was too tired if I skipped the nap that everyone else took. :-)
As an aside, we are big believers in suites, and hence loved sandcastle; having a way to close off the doors between the adults and the kids makes the kid bedtime much less constricting. The relative quiet and isolation of sandcastle outwieghs the longish walk to the resort gate from our perspective. We are considering the cottages for the next trip, but would happily return to sandcastle. As an extra bonus, staying on-point guaranteed that we drove past the new track on our way out. :-)
The kids really enjoyed soak city---more than I expected them too. The not-quite-two-year-old preferred the "tame" toddler area (choo choo lagoon) to almost anything in CP (besides the 4x4s), and the not-quite-four-year-old couldn't really decide which one she liked best. I was in doubt about Soak City's utility (since I prefer CP) but am now a true believer.
Eating reasonably well in the park requires serious planning. It is difficult to encounter something that is not deep-fried, and nearly impossible to find a vegetable other than a deep-fried potato. Don't get me wrong, deep-fried potato is a fine thing, but not for every meal over the course of 2.5 days! By the time we encountered the "salad bar" in the wagon wheel inn on our last day there, I would have paid nearly anything for lettuce. On the other hand, the breakwater cafe was okay, and completely empty mid-day, making for good wind-down time right before naps.
The interactive trip planner is great. It was a useful thing to carry around with us in the park.
Snoopy on ice was great. If you have kids, go see it.
Bring or rent strollers. Even if your kid walks everywhere. We did. We're glad.
Spending an hour or two on the Breakers beach was a great break from everything else. It is realitively quiet compared to either park and the hotel pools, but is still great fun for the kids.
Our biggest problem with the youngest was discouraging him from riding things we knew he wouldn't like. He was not ready for anything beyond the simple around-n-arounds in kiddy kingdom and the gemini children's area. However, he *really* wanted to ride the balloons (he loves balloons) but hated it while on it. Few things are less enjoyable than trying to hold on to the spinner to keep the car from spinning on the dips despite the roughly 8x weight differential on the two sides of the car. Amazingly, he wanted to ride it a second time on our last day. Even more amazingly, we failed to learn from our first experience! He did ride the jr. gemini, and didn't freak out while riding it. However, the ride ops were sending it around twice per load, asking if anyone wanted to get off in between circuits. He got off; it was "too fast! enough!". :-) He had the same reaction to most everything he tried in Camp Snoopy. He loved the "tame" adult rides (and even "drove" the cadillac cars), but didn't like the loud noises on paddlewheel. Note that if you have a kid who similarly doesn't like gunshots, take the CP&LE from midway->frontier, but *not* the other way. On balance, these experiences did not sour him on the Point; on the way back to Sandcastle one night he proclaimed it a "nice day!".
The not-quite-four-year-old didn't stray much beyond kiddy kingdom, gemini kids, and camp snoopy (modulo CP&LE, the cadillac cars, etc.). However, she loved everything she rode. I suspect she would have loved some of the spin-n-pukes, but she did not ask, so we did not push. She even raised her arms on everything *except* WE. She tended to white-knuckle that one, but giggled the whole way, and got more comfortable with each trip. She may be riding coasters with her old man for a while, at least until she decides I am not cool enough to be seen with. CoastaPlaya was dead-on: riding Peanuts 500 with her was amazingly hilarous. She didn't hold on, and in each whip would giggle maniacally. Her giggle got me laughing to the point that I couldn't stop. Even the ride op seemed amused. :-)
The hardest thing for me was being in the park and not maxing out on the coasters. However, getting to see the kids first experience (of hopefully many) with the point was worth each coaster trip not taken!
-brian
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