When we went to Halloweekends last (over a decade ago) we took pics of the small graveyard that had made for rides that no longer exist at Cedar Point. Well, on our most recent visit that Graveyard has grown much bigger than before and it included the “Mean Streak” Roller Coaster which was closed only a week earlier. Built by Dinn Corporation, Mean Streak was the tallest wooden coaster in the world with the longest drop when it opened to the public on May 11, 1991. It is still standing over in Western town but we assume they will take it down probably over the winter and have something new built there in the future. Lots of wood there, we thought maybe they would saw it up and sell parts of it like they do stadiums and casinos that go to the wrecking ball.

Anyhow it was a nice trip down memory lane and Dad found out that there are more rides in the ride cemetery that he has rode in the past (rotor, needle. pirate ride, wild mouse, funhouse, etc.) than new rides he has gone on in this current version of Cedar Point.

Continue reading “Cedar Point Halloweekends Ride Graveyard 2016” →

We don’t remember seeing this graveyard last time we were here in October, but it was fascinating none the less, lots of great entertainers here. One thing we did not understand is why June Carter Cash was here but not Johnny? We’ll have to take a look at these pics again to see if maybe we missed it. Everyone else was there including Janice Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, the Brothers Gibb, Keith Moon, and of course, the day the music died with the Buddy Holly plane crash. A nice little tribute to the rock and roll generation and James’ Mom and Dad both enjoyed visiting this cemetery as James was on a ride.

Very very creative folks these Cedar Point people.

Continue reading “Cedar Point Halloweekends Rock Star Graveyard 2016” →

Well, Mom and Dad got to see a graveyard with many of their favorite rides, and a graveyard with many of their rock and roll heroes. Is there anything else that the folks at Cedar Point can do to make our generation feel a little bit old? How about a parade celebrating the 50 year anniversary of the debut of the Charles Schultz Cartoon “Its the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown”. Yes Dad remembers watching it that fateful day 50 years ago with his Mom in the living room.

Anyhow the parade just seemed to march right in, James and Mom were getting ready to go on the Himalaya ride when this parade came marching toward us. Mom and Dad immediately went to the parade (James went to the ride while all were distracted and picked out a good Himalaya car) and snapped off these pics (and also a video or two).

Below are some video clips of the parade.

Continue reading “Cedar Point Halloweekends Parade 2016” →

Its been a couple years since we visited the Dinosaur park in Kentucky so we thought it was time to take advantage of the dinosaur exhibit at Cedar Point called Dinosaurs Alive. The major difference between this one and the one in Kentucky is that 50 of the many dinosaurs were animated and 3 were set up so that you could control the animation yourself, thus making it very interactive. Like all kids, James is fascinated by Dinosaurs and really, what kid isn’t? When you think that had it not been for a meteor millions of years ago that they might still be walking on this planet it certainly makes you wonder about cause and effect. James wanted a picture of every dinosaur and every plaque and he and Dad decided that one cold January day in the future, they would look back at all these pictures taken today when it was still warm outside.

Mom said later, “we just brought summer back for a day today” and we could not agree with her more. See the short movie of the dinosaurs below.

Continue reading “Cedar Point Halloweekends Dinosaurs Alive 2016” →

Its been over a decade since we have made it to Cedar Point in October to see the legendary “Hallow Weekends” and truly enjoyed the visit with all the scary attractions. James went on about a half dozen rides as well so his time was very well spent going on rides and watching the Halloween attractions. There had to be thousands of pumpkins in the park and several large animatronics including a rock monster and an ogre. Lots of selfies taken on this vist as there was just so much going on and so much to see. A perfect autumn day in the high sixties!

There were also several graveyards, a parade, and a visit to a dinosaur exhibit which we are going to post here as well, but as there own separate topic. Also of note is that this was the first time ever we have gone to Cedar Point on a Sunday (Friday and part of Saturday was rainy) and after our visit we found out that the Tigers got eliminated from the post season, the Lions lost to the bears, and Tony Stewart was eliminated in the Chase. Sounds like our time was very well spent today.

Below is a video of James on a swing ride this day at Cedar Point.

Continue reading “Cedar Point Halloweekends Sunday 2016” →

This year Mom and Dad actually did some work at the Get Together, manning the discount book table and also doing a charity thingy for VIP camp. James was at Howell Nature Center so Mom and Dad had to hold down the fort. But fear not, James came out Saturday to the last day of the Get Together which keeps his streak going at ten (not bad considering he is only 12). We did manage to raise $30 on Wednesday and another $24 on Saturday for VIP camp so I guess we did some good. The annual Magic Get Together is always fun and we always come away from it with a great feeling as we see friends who we only see maybe once or twice a year at the event.

James made the trip up and back interesting as he found a 32,000 piece puzzle (its $300 and its not happening) on the way up, and on the way back enjoyed eating hot wings at his favorite Mexican restaurant.

Continue reading “Abbotts 79th Magic Get Together 2016” →

The train ride that takes you to Frontier land has always had one big perk, coming back to the main park you go through Boneville where dozens of skeletons live and as far as Dad can remember they have been there a very long time. Everyone agreed that the best scene was the house fire with the skeletons trying to put out the fire using various methods including a water hose. We rode the train several times to get as many pics as we could because the train is moving and its hard to keep a good focus. Anyhow, this and a movie is what we came up with.

Boneville has been around for decades, evolving with more skeletons until you have something really spectacular. Although these pictures and videos don’t do it justice, they do give you an idea of the effort that went into this little part of what would otherwise be a boring train ride.

Continue reading “Cedar Point Boneville 2016” →

After James visited Cedar Point with his class, we felt it would be a good time to take him with his family. Security was at the park with metal detectors which was a reminder of the world we live in, but once inside it was simply a perfect day for a visit. Mom and James both enjoyed riding the “spider ride” or whatever you call the thing, but Dad stays away from spinning rides since the Boblo days. James enjoyed an old time Western show with cowboys and showgirls, and a rag tyme street band was playing Rock and Roll songs including Steppenwolf and Kiss. This caused Mom and Dad to do a doubletake as we never heard songs from our generation played that way. Dinner was Chinese at the Panda restaurant and a great time was had by all.

James and Mom on the spider ride below

Continue reading “Cedar Point June 2016” →

We knew going into this day it was going to be a hot one, so we ate a light lunch and ventured onward to Greenfield Village to see the annual Motor Muster of classic cars. The entire village was full of cars and people and we had a hard time finding a parking spot even at the furthest reaches of the Henry Ford parking lot. Fortunately we got in, traveled mostly via the train and the cab around the park. The temperature did hit 93 degrees but there was no humidity so we were quite comfortable most of the time. Great classic car show, we have missed it for the last couple times but we made sure to catch it this year.

Continue reading “Greenfield Village Motor Muster 2016” →

James was rewarded for good attendance with a trip to Cedar Point. This would be his second field trip in as many days, the other being Greenfield Village yesterday. We had to drive James to school so that he would be on the bus at 7:15am, then we picked him back up at school at about 10:00pm that night so the kids really got their money’s worth out of the event. The weather could not have been more perfect and James said he enjoyed the roller coasters the most which continues a great tradition of roller coaster riders in the family. In addition to his Mom and Dad both enjoying roller coasters, his Aunt Criss and Cousin Ron are also big time roller coaster fans. Big thanks to his teacher Mr Jernigan for the pictures toward the end of the gallery, the beginning of the gallery are general Cedar Point pics that day taken by Dad who was working in Cleveland that day.

Continue reading “Cedar Point Reward For Good Attendance 2016” →