CP Time Machine - October 15

Here's another addition of the CP Time Machine for today, October 15, and boy do we have a lot to cover!


2000
Cedar Point closes for the season. New this year was the record breaking Millennium Force.

(c) 2009 Jacob Hartman

This is also the final day for the 4th annual HalloWeekends event. The event ran Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays from September 22nd, through today, October 15. New for the 2000 season was Pharaoh's Secret (located in part of the Disaster Transport queue), and a not so scary decorated Peanuts Playground for the kids.

2001
Construction begins on Wicked Twister; stadium games (an arcade located on the Oceana Midway) is demolished to make way for Wicked Twister


2003
Cedar Point announces their $10 million capital expenditure plan for 2004 which includes an expansion of Lighthouse Point and the addition of Splash Zone to Soak City...read the original press release below!

Cedar Point to invest nearly $10 million for 2004 season

LIGHTHOUSE POINT AND SOAK CITY TO EXPAND OFFERINGS

Cedar Point Press Release

SANDUSKY, Ohio, Oct. 15, 2003 - Cedar Point amusement park/resort today announced plans to invest nearly $10 million in capital improvements for its 2004 season with an emphasis on the "resort side" of the popular 364-acre Lake Erie peninsula with expansions at its Lighthouse Point luxury camping complex and Soak City waterpark.

This announcement comes less than a year after Cedar Point debuted the $25 million Top Thrill Dragster, the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world at 420 feet tall and 120 mph.

Originally built in 2001 on the west bank of the Cedar Point Peninsula near the historic Cedar Point Lighthouse and adjacent to Camper Village RV campground, Lighthouse Point will grow with the addition of 14 lakeside cottages, 30 cabins and 38 luxury RV campsites. This will bring the total number of cottages to 64; cabins to 40 and luxury RV campsites to 97 at Lighthouse Point.

The cottages and cabins will be mirror images of the existing units. The cottages will be one-story units with cedar-shingle exteriors and will be located along the lakefront, offering sweeping views of Lake Erie. The log-exterior cabins will be situated in a large oval formation surrounding two man-made ponds and will have a 4-foot loft in addition to the floor level. The cottages and cabins will have 400 square feet of living space, including a bedroom, living room, kitchenette and bathroom, plus a walk-out deck or patio. Each cottage will sleep up to six people with a double bed, futon and bunk bed; each cabin will accommodate up to eight guests with a double bed, two futons and sleeping space for children in the loft. Each unit will have a microwave, refrigerator, two televisions with cable, telephones and an outdoor grill.

The 38 luxury RV campsites will be back-in sites, which will accommodate large upscale recreational vehicles on an 80-foot-long concrete site. Electricity, cable television, water and sewer will be available at each campsite. The rest room, shower and laundry facilities at the original Camper Village will also be renovated.

With the expansion of Lighthouse Point, Camper Village will have a total of 171 RV campsites.

"Our vision of developing Cedar Point into a complete resort and vacation destination continues to be realized with the exciting expansions at both Lighthouse Point and Soak City," says Daniel Keller, vice president and general manager of Cedar Point. "These additions, along with our world-class amusement park, will offer guests the ideal combination for an overnight summer getaway."

For water lovers, the 18-acre Soak City waterpark, located on the Cedar Point Peninsula adjacent to the amusement park, will introduce Splash Zone, a multi-story interactive play area with more than 100 different wet and wild water gadgets that spray, squirt and drench guests. Racy water slides, speedy chutes, spewing geysers, activity pools and many other cascading aqua elements will entertain and amuse water enthusiasts of all ages.

The centerpiece attraction of this colorful aqua oasis will be a gigantic bucket that will pour 1,000 gallons of water on guests below every 10 minutes. Located 48 feet above the entire Splash Zone area, this tipping bucket will be the perfect refresher for those looking for the ultimate watery cool-down.

With the addition of Splash Zone, this will be the fourth expansion at Soak City since the waterpark originally opened in 1988 with 10 water slides (1990, 1995, 1997 and 2004). Soak City is already one of the largest waterparks in the country, featuring everything from inner tube and body slides and a huge 500,000-gallon wave pool to liquid fun for kids and an adults-only swim-up refreshment center. Soak City is a separate- fee facility, and admission to Cedar Point is not required. The waterpark will open for the 2004 season on Saturday, May 22.

Cedar Point will also renovate its Radisson Harbour Inn property into a year-round indoor waterpark resort that is scheduled to open in November of 2004. Additional information about this project will be announced at a later date.

For more information about the Lighthouse Point and Soak City expansions and for general information about Cedar Point, guests can call 419.627.2350 or visit cedarpoint.com for the latest news.

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2007
The OnPoint! blog posts a wonderful PointCast showing a behind the scenes look at the Monster Midway Invasion Celebration Parade (NEW FOR 2007!)

2010
Cedar Point posted this great video last year showing the making of a HalloWeekends Screamster.

Wow! A lot has happened on October 15th. If you're heading to the park tonight, or perhaps reading this in line (just don't get caught sitting, standing or swinging on the silver hand rails) be sure to check out the park's twitter feed @cedarpoint. Becca has been posting some great ride status tweets today, like this last one..."To recap: Gemini, Magnum, Millennium Force, Mantis, Blue Streak and others are all open! Still breezy, but sunny at the park!" 


Thank you for reading this addition of the CP Time Machine, and have a great day here at America's Roller Coast, Cedar Point...RIDE ON!


See you on the midway,
Jacob Hartman