History and development of Cedar Point Amusement Park

Cedar point Amusement park is located in Sandusky, Ohio. It is among the world's largest and most highly rated amusement park offering ever innovative coaster thrills that can be paralleled by very few amusement parts of the kind with the ever changing thrills presented to the clients like the yet to be unveiled in 2013 winged ride known as the GateKeeper

This paper will look at the history of Cedar Point Amusement Park from the time it was developed to date. This will be how the park developed chronologically each development studied year after year. It will further talk of its location and how it best suits it. It will further look at what the park offers and how it if it has had any impact on the people living in the area around it or the state at large.

Location

Cedar Point Amusement Park is regularly rated the best amusement park in the country, now voted for the position 13 times consecutively

. It is located at the end of a slender strip of land in other words a quiet peninsula that juts into Lake Erie. This location was a lakeside respite for travelers and thus quite a good location for the park. The 364-acre cedar point's existence is owed to the white sand beach which is still one of Lake Erie's few sandy beaches. This appropriate location is what has made the park to grow and develop to what it is known as at the present day.

The park's History

Before 1870, the Cedar Point Peninsula was mainly known and used for fishing and hunting. The area was known for its cedar trees and clear waters which attracted the hunters and fishermen; it was also popular for picnics. This took a sudden turn when an editorial in the local newspaper in 1867 made an appeal to any person who was enterprising enough to take the advantage of the magnificent beach on the lake side of cedar point. In the summer of 1870, a local business man by the name Louis Zistel opened a small beer garden served by a dance floor and a bathhouse on the peninsula. Thus the history of the amusement park that is known today began.

The history of thrill rides at the park began in 1892 when the first roller coaster, the switch back railway made its appearance at the amusement park; it was followed by a machine 25 feet tall with a speed of 10 mph this played a big role in shaping the future of Cedar point. In 1899, the first hotel was built and it was known as the Bay Shore hotel. A second hotel followed merely two years later. Reaching the park gradually became easy owing to the fact that ferries were supplemented by a public road and later a causeway

There was also opening of docks that allowed ships to enter Cedar point directly, railways opened and flights were even registered to the park. The area was landscaped by a Sandusky developer around the turn of the twentieth century. This saw the addition to the first amusement park, the 600-room Hotel Breakers which had tin a tin ceiling, with a tin ceiling, Tiffany chandeliers and a gracious, domed lobby. Later years brought a wide variety of rides, roller coasters, games, shows and more this was made possible by people who had visionary thinking and played a significant part in the creation of the ultimate Amusement park that millions of guests trek to each and every summer

In 1981 the then Marketing director made a description of Cedar Point as the only Amusement park that was successful in making the transition to the new amusement park culture. The park preserves its history well, focusing on blending the classic amusement park attractions with modern flair without losing its family appeal.

What the park offers

Cedar Amusement park has more to offer than just the fabulous roller coasters. It also offers seller attractions like other additional rides, games, shows, the Water Park, the fireworks, on-site hotels and other entertainment and attractions for visiting guests. It also offers mini-golfing facilities and surfing services as well. It has something for everyone to enjoy from the young children to older folks. With the large number of visitors also come the numerous job opportunities particularly during summer time when the highest peaks in terms of visitors are experienced

The Rides

Cedar Amusement park is more than just the roller coasters, it features other thrilling rides such as the demon drop, children rides, a giant Ferris wheel, bumper cars, a themed train ride through Bonneville quirky paddleboat cruise that delights both the young and old a classic merry-go round, a paddle wheel excursion, and the cedar point icon spiral, a 330-foot tall rotating observation deck that offers spectacular views of the park and Lake Erie beyond. Spread all over the park are four children areas, the youngest visitors to the park are thus spoilt for choice with many fun filled options. There are also water rides that are available which come in handy during summer time and cool off on the hot summer nights. There is also a classic sky Ride down the Main Midway that is a great way to travel from one end of the midway to the other as well as the layout of the park that has a bird's eye view. The numerous thrill rides test the rider's endurance for speed, heights and flips

The shows

There is more to the amusement park than just the numerous rides. The park has an entertainment department that does not disappoint at all. There are a number of shows that are available in the different locations within the park this range from fun family friendly presentations to musical reviews in the theatres and saloons in the park. There is a laser show which marks as the height of every night; the show is located near the Iron Dragon. These come into play when flames, fireworks and other special effects combine to thrill the eyes and ears of those present. The park itself is entertaining it has an expert landscape that designers create stunning flower beds with a range of colors throughout the park this is rivaled by the brightly painted rides and buildings. There are other entertaining options which include the petting farm, feeding the fish that are found in lagoons within the park or even playing the many games that are available along every thoroughfare in the park.

Dinning

There cannot be a visit to cedar amusement park that can be complete without snacks. On offer in the park are fine dining options in the in-site hotels. There are also buffets, fresh home-style french-fries, frozen custard and other treats which are classic to parks. Also available widely in the park are drinking fountains and soda machines that are even available inside ride queues which are of great convenience to the riders.

Visiting the park

The park is usually open between early May and Labor Day, daily through early September in the fall, select rides are available from Friday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays throughout the end of October with the parks Halloween weekend events. There are various tickets available in the park with multi-day combination passes, evening-only tickets, junior tickets and both military and senior citizen tickets. There are discounts usually offered to active and retired military personnel as well as if the park is visited by a group of people who are more than fifteen. Every year the park hosts over three million people. There are two hotels in operation within the park. There are suites that offer accommodation for families, and the camper village that welcomes RVs only

The park today

The park has grown into a very fun place to visit for the entire family. It has beautifully landscaped gardens, lake views, a museum, an ice-skating show, plenty of shops and food outlets and water rides, the four children areas, a classic merry-go round and without forgetting the infamous roller coasters. It has adopted a fast lane system which is a two queue system and the visitors of the park receive wrist bands which allow them to bypass the normal-wait line and enter the fast lane.

The park has received awards such as the golden ticket award for the best amusement park in the world for fifteen consecutive years. It is ranked among the most visited amusement park and has also been mentioned in several movies; TV shows and books because it is renowned. The park has also gained such fame that it is frequently used for scientific studies particularly the aeronautics and related studies by NASA to teach basic concepts to physics as well as mathematics students and teachers

(NASA, 2003:7).

Conclusion

There has been a steady development of Cedar Amusement Park from the time it was established as an amusement park to the present time. For its longer than 130-year history, the park has kept a tradition of continual advancement and development that has lured more guests year after year. There has been gradual improvement in the roller coasters from the time they were first opened to now. They are increasingly becoming more powerful and with much more speed. With all these changes over the years the cedar point that is there today wouldn't be recognized by a guest who visited it in 1870 just at its establishment. The only thing that has remained consistent over the years is the beautiful, sandy Lake Erie beach and probably the smiles that are echoed at cedar point in the future as the lake's summertime tradition continues with just the best family and fun excitement. There is therefore a lot to learn from the paper on the way the park has transitioned from the time it was set up to the present date. It is therefore worth to note that the parks location played a big role for its present day location. It is also worth noting that the local authorities at the time of its establishment played a major role since they encouraged the locals to develop the place. Credit has to be given to the first person who began work on the park to the current management since without each and every of their contribution the park would not have grown and become what it is today.