Cedar Point rolls into opening day of 2004 season

Thursday, 29 April 2004

Cedar Point Press Release

SANDUSKY, Ohio, April 28, 2004 – Roller-coaster-riding season has arrived, and there is no better place to experience the best thrills than at Cedar Point, the world’s largest roller coaster park! Home to 16 amazing scream machines and voted the “Best Amusement Park in the World,” the Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park/resort will open for the summer on Saturday, May 8.

With an unmatched collection of 67 total rides, Cedar Point is the world leader when it comes to thrill rides. Just one year after introducing the skyscraping 420-foot-tall, 120-mph Top Thrill Dragster “strata-coaster,” the historic 134-year-old Cedar Point will debut $10 million in new attractions and improvements for the 2004 season.

New this summer will be an expansion to the popular Lighthouse Point upscale camping complex that includes 14 lakeside cottages, 30 cozy cabins and 38 luxury RV sites. Covering 23 acres, Lighthouse Point will now have a total of 64 cottages, 40 cabins and 97 luxury RV campsites. Cedar Point will also introduce three new eateries: Famous Dave’s Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que restaurant serving an award-winning menu of barbeque items; Donut Time with freshly made donuts and pastries; and Game Day Grille, a sports bar eatery. Donut Time and Game Day Grille will open on Opening Day, while Famous Dave’s Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que is scheduled to open Memorial Day Weekend. At the Soak City waterpark, Splash Zone, a watery activity area with hundreds of ways to get wet, will be unveiled on Saturday, May 22 when the waterpark opens for its 17th season.

Opening Day will feature The Ohio State University Spring Athletic Band, making its fifth appearance at Cedar Point. Under the direction of Assistant Director Jon Waters, the 225-member band will perform near the park’s main gate (8:45 a.m.) and across from the Iron Dragon (1 p.m.).

Opening Day revelers will enjoy a new season of world-record-breaking thrills with the park’s lineup of incredible scream machines, including the second season for Top Thrill Dragster, the world’s tallest and fastest roller, and more than a dozen others such as Millennium Force, Magnum XL-200, Raptor, Mantis, Blue Streak, Gemini, Mean Streak and the kid-sized Jr. Gemini for future coaster enthusiasts.

Cedar Point’s award-winning live entertainment will premiere on Opening Day with Charlie Brown’s Funtime Frolics in Camp Snoopy. Seven additional live shows, plus “Snoopy’s Summer Spectacular” laser, light and sound show, will be added to the entertainment schedule throughout the season.

Families and children will be tickled to rediscover the fun and wonder of Camp Snoopy again in 2004 with loads of family rides and attractions, including the rousing 38-foot-high Woodstock Express roller coaster and the world-famous PEANUTS characters such as Snoopy and Charlie Brown. Kiddy Kingdom and its array of rides for Cedar Point’s youngest fans also await Opening Day guests, while the high-energy “Snoopy Rocks! On Ice” returns to the Good Time Theatre beginning Saturday, June 26.

The park’s wide range of resort properties will begin welcoming overnighters daily on Friday, May 7 with Lighthouse Point, the Hotel Breakers, Breakers Express and Camper Village RV campground. Sandcastle Suites Hotel will be open on Friday and Saturday, May 21-22 and will begin daily operation on Friday, May 28. Cedar Point’s Radisson Harbour Inn is open year-round.

Cedar Point will be open daily Saturday, May 8 through Labor Day, Sept. 6. The park will reopen for Bonus Weekends on Friday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays, Sept. 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19 and for HalloWeekends on Friday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays, Sept. 24, 25, 26, Oct. 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30 and 31.