Photo TR: Cedar Point - Halloweekends

Decided to take one more full trip to the Point for the year. Went with the kiddos and my sister came along for her first trip. We arrived at the park around 8:30 Friday evening - it was chilly and a little windy so a few rides were down like Dragster and Raptor. We checked out a few shows, got a ride on Gatekeeper, Wicked Twister and Millennium Force then left about 11:30.

 

We stayed at Breakers Express the first night so I went over to Battery Park to get some sunrise photos - then we head into the park for early entry. Again it was a chilly day but not as windy - everything but Maverick seemed to be running. I splurged for FastLane Plus (actually not a bad deal for Platinum Pass holders $100 vs. $150) so we were able to get a decent amount of riding in and go at a leisurely pace.

 

I had to explain to my sister who Tony Clark was and what a tweetup was and let her know that on a crowded day it would be tough to win unless we got lucky - which we did! We had rode Dragster and head up to the restrooms near Matterhorn. As I was leaving I saw a fellow carrying a handful of Fright Lane passes - it was "Intern" Jordan!!! Not 10 seconds later Tony tweeted out that he was at the Valravn center!!! Woo Hoo! We quickly WALKED over and there was already a few folks in line. We tried to do the math as he handed out the Fright Lanes and my sister and myself were lucky to score Fright Lane passes - and she got a coin! It was pretty exciting! My kids opted for the line skippies as no matter how hard I try they won't do the haunts.

 

So FINALLY I got to do the haunts - and on this insanely crowded night we were able to walk right in to all the haunts - the only waits were 20 minutes for Eerie Estates and about 15 minutes for Cornstalkers - everything else we went right in. We also got to experience the Skeleton Key rooms. Here's how I ranked the haunts...

 

1. Eerie Estates - Best theming and best Skeleton Key room - loved it.

2. Zombie High - Great theming and great cast that made the Skeleton Key room a hoot.

3. Cornstalkers - Lots of good jump-scare moments

4. Slaughter House - It was ok and Skeleton Key room was different

5. Eden Musee - Again it was ok and Skeleton key room was different - but really only 1 guest can truly experience.

6. Eternity Infirmary - Liked the "spinning room" walkway part - Worst Skeleton Key Room - just stupid.

7. Hexed - OK - no Skeleton Key room - but props to Goat Man who was entertaining the queue.

 

Everything was pretty much PG-13. I was hoping for a little more intensity from the screamsters in the houses. I'm glad we got to do them all and not really wait - plus with the colder weather it was nice to warm up a bit. I would do the top 3 again - they were really very well done - the rest I personally wouldn't do again.

 

Next morning I spent some time at the beach at Hotel Breakers to try and get some photos - I was able to get a a few keepers for sure. After that we head in for early entry and unfortunately Maverick was still down while Millennium Force and Rougarou were still cycling with water dummies. We head up and walked on Gatekeeper then came back to find Millennium Force and Rougarou up. Maverick would not come up before we had to leave so that was a bummer. That's OK because we are already planning our trip next year to get that credit and Valravn!

 

Here's some photos I took - not a lot of ride photos as we were too busy riding / doing haunts ourselves but had time to see a few shows and take some morning / night shots...

 

Enjoy!

Stopped in the Red "Slaugher" Saloon to check out the Edge of Madness show

Jazz hands!

Lots of 80's rock was heard

Jammin'

Nice details with all the costumes.

Stopped to watch the Skeleton Crew show

Looks concerned - must have lost his big metal hoop.

Dramatic climb with dramatic lens flare.

Even with a safety line - that's pretty crazy.

No safety lines for the silk aerial act

She was very, very good - great performance.

But this guy - stole the show.

I don't know what was more impressive - his hair or the sword swallowing.

He had swords of all shapes and sizes.

Lubing one up.

This got a lovely reaction of "yuck!" from everyone.

Then the namesake of the act came out and bounced around for us.

Stars were still out as I arrived.

A closer look at the front gate.

Longer exposer to soften the waves.

This view never gets old.

I look from further back.

Pumping up the saturation for a more dramatic look.

Brought the camera back out at sunset.

Trying to get that nice bokeh.

The Frontier Trail was lit up nicely.

Snuck up the Thunder Canyon queue to get this shot.

Loved the lasers along the trail.

Crazy colors everywhere.

The huge crowds made their way through the darkness and lasers.

Nice mood lighting.

This sign would fire up every few minutes or so.

This guy was hanging out near celebration plaza.

Up by Coaster Drive In.

Loved the fall colors everywhere.

I still love the Giant Wheel's LED package.

Looks like a lightbulb needs changed.

Even power tower gets lots of orange, green and purple hues.

Pumpkins were everywhere near the Dragster midway.

See - lots of them.

Like, everywhere. Time to head back to Breakers for the night.

Got lucky as I waited for sunrise as they fired up the Giant Wheel lights for like 5 minutes.

This is when I don't feel so crazy standing on a 30 something degree beach at 7 AM.

Sunrises over Lake Erie never get old.

Tried to incorporate the fail foliage.

A little wider shot.

Sun came up and bathed everything in gold.

Breakers taking in the morning sun.

Loved the glare off the windows.

Being creative with a Gator that just rode by.

One last beach shot.

Morning Breakers!

A look out from the fire pits.

The rotunda even had a little bat light show.

 

Wow! Your photos were simply beautiful. I really love this one:

 

 

Thank's for sharing!

Your TR definitely makes me want to stay at The Breakers, should I ever get lucky enough

to get over to Cedar Point. Especially for Halloween!

 

Loved the beach shots at sunrise.

 

It also reminded me of some of the morning shots I got from my room's window at our recent

stay at the Sequoia Lodge in Disneyland Paris Resort. Not a beach shot, to be sure, but still,

it's great to see a park, or part of it, in a morning light - and evening sunsets as well, lol!

Our fourth morning at the hotel. Tower of Terror in the distance. Sept.24-15.

These are once again some really awesome shots. They really capture what Cedar Point is all about and its beauty that a lot of people overlook as just an oversized landscaping budget. I have plans for a three days at Cedar Point next June and these reports get me so excited, just way too early

Outstanding pictures! Thanks for sharing.

The sword swallower was in Elvira's show last year at Knott's. He was great!

Thanks for the look at Cedar Point's Haunt event. I've never been up there this time of year.

What an fantastic trip report. I have not been to Cedar Point for HalloWeekends. It looks like a lot of fun. In addition, you took some amazing photos. Thanks for sharing.

Seems bumping that exposure makes Cedar Point extra pretty! Beautiful portraits and landscapes! I love when a park transforms for halloween events!

Wow, hands down the best Halloweekends photos I have ever seen. Thanks for posting these. I won't be able to make it this year, but your pictures satisfy greatly. Much appreciated!

 

josh

DoinItForTheFame, Nrthwnd, Password121, coasterbill, dippindotsguy8, cfc, ppleboy007, Midgetman82, thefreak

 

Thanks all for the kind words. I know these aren't typical trip report photos - but I try to capture aspects of the park that may go unnoticed. Plus being up early to see the park "wake up" is quite a peaceful experience with or without the camera. That's also when you realize the park never sleeps - because there are crews all over the park all night getting things ready for the next day.

 

There really is more to do there than just the coasters and Hotel Breakers has really become a destination resort - they really did a wonderful job. From my opening day trip to the last trip I'm still taken aback when I walk into Breakers - mainly because it was just that bad before. I really hope they maintain it over the years - so far this year it has been in top notch condition every time I've visited. You can tell that the park has really taken great pride in the renovations of Hotel Breakers.

Very pretty

^^Let's hope that next on their agenda after finishing Breakers is an update to Breakers Express as I think that the Motel 6 off of Rt. 2 in Huron is actually nicer than this place. Yes, it's a cheaper CP property and therefore one would expect it to not be as nice as Breakers, but I felt that it could use an overhaul after staying their on Friday night.

 

I was unimpressed to see what looked like several black mold spots around the base of the bathtub...I would expect that at the Quality Inn at the Thirsty Pony down the street, but not at a CP resort. Yes, cleanliness is not part of an actual upgrade, but it's still an expectation at any hotel I stay at.

 

Updating the decor of the rooms and adding adequate electrical outlets (or charging stations) to plug in your electronics would be also be welcome additions. I don't think that these would be a significant capital expenditures to do to at this hotel, but they would certainly help increase the quality of the experience.

AWESOME report! What kind of camera do you use? Loved the pictures