Guest Post: My Quintessential Summer Vacation: Cedar Point Amusement Park

While I enjoy traveling & have grown accustomed to more “sophisticated” trips that my wife expertly plans for us, my quintessential summer vacation is still a trip to Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio.

Going to Cedar Point is like going home.  My parents took me to Cedar Point for the first time when I was three months old & the whole family has had season passes ever since.  I remember the summer when I was first tall enough to ride the brand new Iron Dragon. I remember when the Avalanche Run was an open-air ride before they put a building over it & changed the name to the Disaster Transport.  I remember when Camper Village, where I always stayed in my parents 1984 RV, went all the way to the shores of Lake Erie – before Soak City (the water park) moved in & whipped out most of it. I remember when music majors from local universities would perform in my favorite shows, Surfin’ Summertime & Show Stoppers. I remember the times I was called up on stage to do the hula hoop contest & sing “Da do run, run.”

I can tell you when every roller coaster was built – either because I remember the summer it was unveiled or I have memorized the plaques at the entrance of every ride. I can still recite, word for word, the complete schpeel for the Magnum XL-200 at lightning speed.

I spent a weekend in college as a “Ride Pride” volunteer working the Gemini – two days of pure bliss taking a behind-the-scenes look at the park (the ballroom of the Grand Pavilion, the employee cafeteria, and the employee break areas) & even having the opportunity to purchase a coveted blue “employee track suit.”  It’s been at the back of my closet ever since, but I am not parting with it.

I spent a memorable July weekend in 2009 when my wife surprised me with a trip to my childhood summer home – one of my first times back since leaving Ohio after college & her first time back to the park in about 15 years. I rode my favorite rides: Millennium Force, Raptor, Magnum XL-200, the Gemini; ordered cheese fries as a snack, just as I always had; & even got to enjoy a second day in the park with my brother who made a surprise visit.

My best summer vacation memories will always be from a time on the shore of Lake Erie, enjoying a picnic lunch at Camper Village with noise of the Magnum in the background, screaming my head off on my 100th roller coaster ride of the day, & chowing down on Lake Erie Perch at DeMore’s Fish Den on our way home.