The Thrills of Roller-Coasters and Zombies

So this one time I was on a trip where I dropped my phone flat on cement, shattered my screen and laughed about it. I think it was because I was at Cedar Point and it’s impossible to be mad in such a happy place.

Even though summer is over and the Midwest seems too cold for any water park or roller-coaster, Cedar Point stays open on weekends until Halloween is over with haunted houses, creepy clowns and midnight thrill rides.

So last weekend I headed down to Ohio to check out what is known as “Halloweekends” for myself. And since it’s Cedar Point, I couldn’t have the experience without bringing my family. Previously, I had been to there once before. However, my brother, his girlfriend and my dad were newbies to the park and I was super stoked to bring them along.

Being new to the park, we decided to all head on the Top Thrill Dragster as our first ride. For those of you who have never been to Cedar Point, the roller-coaster shoots you off at speeds of 120 mph and lasts a total of about 7 seconds. Although we had to wait in line for over two hours due to high winds, the wait was totally worth those 7 seconds of pure thrill and adrenaline. I can also tell you I screamed like a little girl the entire way. No shame.

The entire park is decorated in the theme of Halloween. Giant skulls, moving zombies and random coffins are a common site while walking from ride to ride. Although once the sun sets the creepiness of Cedar Point on Halloween sets in…and it’s epic.

As darkness approaches, thousands roam about the park. One may think “how can this be scary with so many lights and people?”. Well when the sun goes down and the moon comes up, hundreds of mangled faces, skeletons, zombies, clowns and witches leak into the paths. Fog machines are cranked up and block the clear vision of the lights. Lasers, music and glowing eyes are everywhere, and among the others walking the path with you, the demented creatures blend in until they pop up in your face. Luckily for my dad and my boyfriend, who were with me during the night, they got it easy because for some reason every single creepy thing we passed came straight to me. Why?!? When it comes to haunted houses I scream even when I know something is about to pop out at me, so at least it was funny for them to watch.

Starting at 6pm, Haunted Houses open up. We did the Wax Museum which was pretty great. But although the park is open late specifically for Halloween festivities, I thought riding the actual roller coasters in the dark was one of the best parts. There’s nothing like jumping on the Millennium Force at 11:45pm and shooting off into the black horizon!

Now there are two types of tickets that can be purchased. There are the regular entry tickets, which get you into the park and something called “Fast Track” passes. The difference is the the amount of wait time to get onto a ride or into a haunted house. For example, to get into the Wax Museum we waited around 30 minutes, however Fast Track passes were walk-ins. Or on bigger roller coasters like the Maverick, you can cut the time from 1 1/2 hours to about 15 minutes. Of course the Fast Track tickets are more expensive, but it is up to you if it is worth saving the time.

I fricken’ love Halloween and I never even knew Halloweekends existed. Heck, before June of this year I had never even been to Cedar Point. Come on Shalee, get with the program! The park has been an absolute blast, and it has contributed to many memories and laughs from my summer. It’s a place to go with anyone and everyone. I personally love the thrill, so you’ll always catch me on the big coasters. However there are over 150 attractions within the park, from rides to musical performances to life-like dinosaurs and even a wine bar! Little kids, big kids, adult kids…it doesn’t matter who you are, you will leave the park grinning ear to ear.